Home for concerts approved

Valerie Miller

Friday, Jan. 28, 2000 | 11:14 a.m.

A 2,500-seat amphitheater is expected to be open in Henderson and ready to host concerts, plays, arts and crafts fairs and other events by July 2001.

The Henderson Planning Commission unanimously approved the 61-foot-high amphitheater Thursday night. It was the final approval needed for the project.

With a capacity to hold up to 7,500 people, the amphitheater would have 2,500 fixed seats and a 5,000-person "turf bowl," where spectators can sit on the grass.

Officially known as the Henderson Promenade and Special Events Plaza, the $10.5 million amphitheater is planned for 200 South Green Valley Parkway, at the southwest corner of Paseo Verde and Green Valley Parkway in the Green Valley area.

The project will be next to the recently approved multigenerational parks and recreational facility. The developments are funded from a park bond passed by the city nearly a decade ago.

The amphitheater faced little opposition, with planners mostly concerned about working out details such as parking, shuttle service and sound levels.

The project will share 858 parking stalls with the multigenerational center and a future library planned for the site. Noise levels would be reduced by depressing the amphitheater into the ground and facing it away from existing residential neighborhoods.

Plans call for a shuttle service to be provided for parks and recreation events such as "Shakespeare in the Park," which may occur three or four times a year.

Planning Commissioner Dan Shaw said the impact of the lighting on nearby homes would be minimal.

"The light will be visible from surrounding homes, but it will be a glow, not a glaring light," Shaw said.

The amphitheater's proximity to the multigenerational center will help bring different age groups together, said John Simmons, a public works construction manager.

"There will be activities going on at the multigenerational center that can couple with the amphitheater," Simmons said. "This amphitheater will expand the culture already existing in Henderson."