PORTLAND, Ore. — All of the sudden, Portland has a race on its hand with two new concert venues proposed in the city’s east side.
Last week, KGW’s news partner Portland Business Journal reported that Monqui Presents is partnering with Anschutz Entertainment Group to create an entertainment venue at Lloyd Center in the former Nordstrom's.
On Tuesday, the city of Portland started its review of a second concert venue — this one in the Central Eastside on a site near Hawthorne Bridge on Southeast Water Avenue between Salmon Street and Main Street. The four-story, 62,000-square-foot venue would hold 1,280 seats with a maximum capacity of 3,500 people.
To compare, the Lloyd Center proposal plans to be a 68,000-square-foot venue with a maximum capacity of 4,200 people.
One major difference between the two is that one would be a Live Nation Entertainment venue. In Tuesday’s hearing, Beam Development and Colas Construction, the development partners behind the Central Eastside venue, confirmed that Live Nation would be the sole tenant.
Colas Construction’s CEO and President Andrew Colas said Live Nation brings the money and experience needed to make this project successful, though some fear it would ruin Portland’s independent music industry.
Portland is one of the few major metro areas without a Live Nation venue; however, the entertainment company does help facilitate concerts at the Moda Center.
In May, the Justice Department — along with 30 states, including Oregon — filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, accusing them of running “an illegal monopoly” over live events in the U.S and several practices to maintain a stronghold on venues, including blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers.
Despite concern over Live Nation, the idea of a large concert venue in the Central Eastside was met with a mix of support. Patrick Fleming of Boke Bowl, a popular Asian restaurant down the street from the proposed venue, said the crowds the venue could draw would help with safety and reduce vandalism in the area. Beam Development also owns the building Boke Bowl is located.
“I think it will be a gamechanger, especially the nighttime activity,” Fleming said.
However, there is some concern over safety with bringing thousands of people to an area with frequent train activity, especially with the lack of pedestrian crossing over tracks that can have stopped trains for long periods of time.
The concert venue will be under review with Portland’s new Permitting and Development office, formally the Bureau of Development Services, over the next few months. The record remains open for further public comment until 4:30 p.m. on July 17.
