- Sandstone Amphitheater
Infobox Venue
name = Sandstone Amphitheater
image_caption = deletable image-caption
nickname =
location =Bonner Springs, KS
coordinates = coord|39.113796|-94.876717|type:landmark|display=inline,title
type = open-airamphitheater
genre =
broke_ground =
built =
opened = 1984
renovated = 2008
expanded =
closed =
demolished =
owner = The Unified Government
former_names = Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
seating_type =
seating_capacity =
website =Sandstone Amphitheater (officially known as Capital Federal Park at Sandstone) is an open-air entertainment venue at 633 N. 130th in
Bonner Springs, Kansas , near theVillage West development. The venue is owned by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas .History
Designed by Bird Engineering, Sandstone Amphitheater originally opened in 1984 as the Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts. The venue was renamed as the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in June 2002 after the wireless company bought the naming rights to the venue for seven years from Houston-based
Clear Channel Entertainment for an undisclosed amount.Clear Channel Communications spun off its live events management division in 2005 to form Los Angeles-basedLive Nation , which continued to manage the venue through the 2007 concert season.In September 2007,
Live Nation announced that it would let expire its contract to manage the amphitheater onDecember 31 ,2007 . In January 2008, the Unified Government Commission ratified a pact with local promoter Chris Fritz’s New West Presentations, Inc. to operate the venue through the end of 2009, with a two-year option to extend the contract. Under the new deal with New West, the venue name would revert back to Sandstone.Through 2007, the venue featured 6,700 reserved seats and general admission lawn seating. Beginning in 2008, plans are underway to remove the majority of the reserved seats closest to the stage in order to make that area a
general admission section. The change in the seating configuration is designed to let more fans get closer to the performers. Additional structural changes for 2008 include an upgraded VIP club and new sound and video systems.Through the years the stage has fought several limitations, a 37-foot roof is well below the norm which often proves challenging to book shows.
Green Initiatives
A primary component of the changes to the venue in 2008 involve the venue's efforts to "go green" and become more
environmentally friendly . These initiatives are evidenced in the venue's new logo. Free parking will be offered to those who carpool with at least 4 people in a vehicle or those who arrive inalternative fuel vehicles. LEED certification will also be a goal the venue hopes to achieve by the use ofsolar panel s and wind turbines for energy, setting up a compost site, and allowing bio-fueled vehicle owners to collect used cooking oil.Events
*
Vans Warped Tour , feat.Reel Big Fish ,Story of the Year ,Every Time I Die ,Paramore , and more - July 2, 2008
* 311,Snoop Dog - July 10, 2008
* Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, feat. Slipknot,Disturbed , Machine Head,Underoath and more - July 22, 2008
* Jack Johnson, Rogue Wave,Neil Halstead - August 15, 2008ee also
*
List of contemporary amphitheatres External links
* [http://www.sandstoneamp.com Sandstone Amphitheater website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
