A big entertainment facility project in El Paso that has been in the talking stage for more than two years has cleared a significant hurdle.
Members of the El Paso City Council have now given their approval to amendments that are a part of a public private partnership to build what is being called the Sunset Amphitheater.
The project, which will be built in the 9700 block of Gateway North Boulevard, about a dozen miles to the northeast of downtown El Paso, will go up on the site of the former Cohen Stadium, which was demolished in 2019.
As planned, the Sunset Amphitheater will be the central component in a 50-acre entertainment district to be developed by the Colorado Springs-based Venu, formerly known as Notes Live Incorporated.
Updates to the Chapter 380 Economic Development Agreement approved by council members call for increasing Venu’s minimum investment to $100 million and streamlining land transfer and development coordination terms.
The amphitheater is expected to have a 12,500-seat capacity, and be open the entire year, hosting upwards of 40 shows annually.
Venu, which opened an 8,000-seat amphitheater in Colorado Springs last year announced earlier this month that it had purchased a new site in Centennial for the construction of yet one more such facility.
As with other amphitheater projects undertaken by the company, the Centennial effort will see the building of restaurant, retail, and private rental space. In a statement, Will Hodgson, Venu president, remarked: “Music fans are no longer satisfied with simply walking through the front doors of a venue; they’re looking for more.”
Work on the El Paso amphitheater and entertainment district is expected to begin later this year, with an anticipated completion date sometime next year.
April 17, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Rendering courtesy of the City of El Paso
