PORTLAND, Ore. — A proposal to bring a Live Nation venue to Portland will move forward after the city council unanimously rejected an appeal to stop it.
On Wednesday, the Portland City Council rejected a formal appeal brought forward by MusicPortland, a nonprofit advocacy group for Oregon’s music industry. The nonprofit argued that the venue would have a negative impact on the city's independent music scene.
The board of commissioners for Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency, recently approved selling a vacant city block to the developers, who planned to lease it to Live Nation. The 62,000 square-foot venue would sit near the Hawthorne Bridge.
The decision comes after many testified against the planned venue in a September meeting, with critics bringing up the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, which 30 other states, including Oregon, have joined. The suit accuses them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in the U.S., hurting smaller promoters and artists, which Live Nation has denied.
Some local business owners, however, argued that building the venue would fill a gap in the market, as Portland is one of the few major metro areas without a Live Nation venue, and would bring foot traffic to the Central Eastside.
MusicPortland, in the meeting, also argued that the venue is "in the wrong place," due to the location of nearby train tracks which could majorly impact traffic to and from the venue.
After hearing that September testimony, the city commissioners voted unanimously to tentatively deny the appeal, leaving the official vote for Oct. 2.
Though the city council acknowledged the community's "significant interest," it concluded that the planned venue met zoning approval and safety standards for pedestrians, as well as provide "extensive public benefits" to the area, including employment, tax revenue and economic activity.
"The concert venue would create a higher level of activity in the evenings to deter crime and support nearby bars and restaurants without interfering with industrial businesses that operate primarily in the daytime. In addition, the applicant would be required to install public improvements such as wider sidewalks and street trees around the development site," the review stated.
