Live Nation and its partners have broken ground on a 6,200-seat amphitheater in downtown Cleveland.
The Cleveland Riverfront Amphitheater is being developed by real estate company Bedrock and Rock Entertainment Group, which oversees the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
Live Nation will operate the venue, which is due to open by summer 2028, according to a statement published by Rock Entertainment Group.
The three companies held a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site, on the banks of the Cuyahoga River, on Tuesday (November 10).
The partners say it will be the first large music venue built in Cleveland in more than 20 years.
They also project that the amphitheater will generate nearly USD $59 million in annual economic impact.
Rock Entertainment Group said the venue will host national headliners, global touring acts, and local artists.
Architecture firm DLR Group is the project’s lead designer, working alongside Blueprint Studio, Live Nation’s in-house design and development group.
“Great cities need great venues,” said Live Nation Ohio Market President Michael Belkin at the groundbreaking, according to Cleveland Scene.
“When it is all said and done and folks are in the venue, [I see a] beautiful afternoon, looking at the river, looking at our extraordinary skyline, and listening to the dulcet tones of Metallica,” quipped Bedrock CEO Jared Fleisher at the event, per Cleveland Scene. “I can’t imagine anything more beautiful and peaceful than that.”
The amphitheater forms part of The Riverfront, Bedrock’s plan to redevelop 35 acres of land along the river.
The site sits next to the Cavaliers’ Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, which the partners say will open in February 2027.
Bedrock and Rock Entertainment Group first unveiled plans for the venue in February, naming Live Nation as its operator.
“Cleveland has always been one of America’s great music cities, and this amphitheater is about raising the bar to match that legacy,” said Belkin at the time. “By creating a modern, leading outdoor venue on the riverfront, we’re giving artists another reason to play Cleveland, giving fans more of the shows they want close to home.
“This investment not only honors the city’s rock ‘n’ roll roots, it positions Cleveland to compete with other regional markets for the biggest tours in the country.”
“This outdoor amphitheater on the Cuyahoga River will be a dynamic community gathering place and a strategic investment in downtown Cleveland’s growing experience-driven economy,” said Nic Barlage, CEO of Rock Entertainment Group, in February.
“In partnership with global powerhouse Live Nation, we will deliver a new premier venue that draws visitors, vitality and economic development to the urban core and continues our transformation of the riverfront into an active, energized destination.”
The Cleveland amphitheater adds to a broader venue expansion push at Live Nation.
In its Q3 2026 results, published on November 5, Live Nation said it was on track to open or acquire 10 large venues (over 3,000 capacity) by the end of 2026.
Live Nation also said its capital expenditures are on track to reach nearly USD $1.1 billion this year, with USD $800 million “directed toward expanding and improving venues.”
In May, Live Nation President and CFO Joe Berchtold reiterated the company’s target, first set out at its 2025 Investor Presentation, of 48 new venues within five years, generating a USD $600 million adjusted operating income (AOI) run rate by 2032.
Live Nation set out new targets for Venue Nation, its venue development and acquisition division, at its 2026 Investor Presentation on Tuesday (November 10), the same day as the Cleveland groundbreaking.
The company now plans to open 38 new venues between 2027 and 2031, which are expected to add more than 20 million fans a year, according to analyst notes on the presentation from BTIG and Jefferies.
Live Nation’s US amphitheater business has also been a focus of antitrust litigation against the company in 2026.
In April, a federal jury in Manhattan found that Live Nation had illegally monopolized the market for large amphitheaters through exclusionary conduct, alongside separate findings against Ticketmaster in concert ticketing.
The jury also found that Live Nation had unlawfully tied its promotion services to artists’ use of those amphitheaters.
That verdict came around five weeks after Live Nation settled with the US Department of Justice, in a deal that Live Nation said included “divesting its 13 exclusive booking agreements with amphitheaters nationwide.”
Under that settlement, which still requires final court approval, Live Nation said its owned and operated amphitheaters would become “open venues,” with promoters able to decide how best to distribute “up to 50% of the tickets.”
Live Nation is challenging the jury’s verdict, having asked the court to overturn it or order a new trial.Music Business Worldwide
