By John Dobberstein, Editor
The Regent Bank Amphitheater in Broken Arrow will open in early December with a “Winter Preview” event, but the first full performance season has been pushed back to next year, Venu Holding Corp. announced Wednesday.
The $103 million, 12,500-seat facility was scheduled to open last year but design changes and construction delays led to the date being moved. Company officials said the building will be finished in early to mid-November, followed by getting employees on site and trained.
The first shows will utilize the smaller 5,000-seat setup in the amphitheater rather than using the entire theater.
“When you only get one chance to open your doors, you want the hospitality to be right on night one,” said Venu CEO, president and founder J.W. Roth. “We’ve had some weather along the way, as any project this size does, but we’re exactly where we want to be.”
The amphitheater will host its first show – “A Magical Cirque Christmas” – Dec. 4-5. Tickets go on sale soon and fans can sign up at regentbankamphitheater.com to receive announcements about ticket sales and other information.
The company says A Magical Cirque Christmas is a “high-flying holiday spectacular” from ICON Live appearing in more than 30 cities across the country this season.
The production brings together acrobats, aerialists and circus artists, including Guinness World Record holder Leila Noone, internationally acclaimed magician Mark Clearview and fourth-generation circus performer Jonathan Rinny, “for an evening of spectacle, comedy, and holiday music the whole family can enjoy.”
Roth said the Winter Preview gives Broken Arrow a first look at what is coming. If the amphitheater’s development continues as planned the summer season could open as early as April, but that hasn’t been finalized yet.
“For two years, Broken Arrow watched this building rise from the ground, and on December 4 it finally belongs to them,” Roth said. “There is nothing like being in a room like this for the first time, the energy of a crowd that has never been inside these walls before. That is the moment we have been building toward.”
“And if you are going to open your doors for the first time, you might as well do it with some of the most jaw-dropping performers on the planet,” he says.
Additional programming is expected to be announced in a few weeks.
Regent Bank reached an agreement with Venu for naming rights this summer. Legends Global is handling day-to-day logistics and will Aramark Sports + Entertainment for food, beverage, and hospitality services. VENU retains oversight of sponsorships and books events via its internal team and partners like Live Nation.
The city of Broken Arrow established Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District #5 to fund roughly $30 million in public infrastructure for Regent Bank Amphitheater, which is expected to generate $4.3 billion in economic activity in its first 20 years of operation.
When asked about the interest that’s been shown in the amphitheater in the live entertainment industry, Roth said the facility has become “the showcase venue of our portfolio” and Venu is proving out a new asset class in live entertainment.
Venu has billed Regent Bank Amphitheater as being fan-centered but also “artist-inspired”, which means artists have had a seat at the table in ways that influence architecture, sound design, programming and content.
Roth said executives leaned heavily on its advisory council, as well as Irish singer, songwriter and musician Niall Horan, and country music singer and songwriter Dierks Bentley.
“We’ve had some of the biggest executives in the industry out to the site, eager to see it come to life, and every one of those visits is a chance to tell the story of Broken Arrow and this region on the largest stages in entertainment,” Roth said.
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