CLEVELAND — A battle for bands is shaping up on Cleveland’s riverfront, where a developer plans to build a 6,200-seat amphitheater designed for concerts, festivals and other events.
Bedrock and Rock Entertainment Group announced Thursday morning that they’re working on the project with Live Nation, the massive concert promoter and venue operator that runs the House of Blues Cleveland and Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls.
The amphitheater will sit just south of the new Cleveland Cavaliers’ practice facility, which is still under construction off West Third Street and Eagle Avenue. It’s part of a much broader riverfront redevelopment plan dreamed up by Bedrock, the real estate arm of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s Rock family of companies.
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“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,” Nic Barlage, Rock Entertainment Group’s CEO, said in a news release.
Barlage, who leads the umbrella organization for the Cavs, the Cleveland Monsters and Rocket Arena, also is overseeing Detroit-based Bedrock’s work in Cleveland.
Bedrock and Rock Entertainment Group said the amphitheater will be the city’s first new large music venue in more than two decades.
Jacobs Pavilion, which Live Nation used to run, opened on the west bank of the Flats in 1987 and has been renovated over time. Now operated by AEG Presents, Jacobs Pavilion has a capacity of about 5,000.
But there are other live-music projects on the drawing board – with potential openings in 2029 or later. Early ideas for developing Cleveland’s Downtown lakefront include an indoor-outdoor music venue with 8,000 to 10,000 seats.
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Lincoln Property Company, which is working on plans for development around the new Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park, is eying a music venue and event center with a potential capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 people.
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Bedrock’s amphitheater could open in 2028, assuming construction starts this year. The developer did not disclose a timeline for the project, and a spokeswoman said Barlage was not available for an interview this week.
“Cleveland has always been one of America’s great music cities,” Michael Belkin, Live Nation’s Ohio market president, said in the news release. “And this amphitheater is about raising the bar to match that legacy.”
He said a modern, open-air venue will help Cleveland compete with other regional markets for major tours.
“We’re giving artists another reason to play Cleveland, giving fans more of the shows they want close to home,” Belkin said.
It will rise on a roughly four-acre site off West Third and Stones Levee Road.
Bedrock purchased part of the block in 2023, paying $2.8 million, according to Cuyahoga County land records. The developer bought the rest of the property this month for $3.75 million.
A Bedrock affiliate also owns the riverfront land across the street.
Now pitted pavement and old warehouses will be replaced by live entertainment, at a time when Bedrock and Rock Entertainment Group are focusing on experiences – instead of traditional retail – as an amenity to bring more people to Downtown.
Last week, Cleveland’s planning commission approved final designs for Cosm, a domed theater and immersive sports bar that Bedrock’s developing in the Gateway District, just up the hill. That venue is set to open next year at East Fourth Street and Huron Road.
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Rock Entertainment Group believes the amphitheater will bring thousands of people to the riverfront annually, generating almost $59 million in economic impact.
In a news release, Mayor Justin Bibb said the proposal “reflects the type of resident and visitor experience that we want here in downtown Cleveland.”
He applauded Bedrock and Rock Entertainment Group for their investments in the city, including Cosm and the forthcoming Cavs practice facility – a sports-excellence and medicine hub called the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center. That complex is scheduled to open next year.
Bedrock controls more than 35 acres of Cleveland’s riverfront. The company’s plans there call for expansive public spaces, a boardwalk and mixed-income housing – along with other buildings, though the outlook for offices and other commercial space is murky.
Last year, Bedrock won a $9 million state tax credit to help with site work and early phases of the development. The company’s tax-credit application mentioned the prospect of an amphitheater, along with a 17-story building that would include a hotel, a live music and entertainment venue, restaurants, retail and parking.
The status and timing of that mixed-use development project are unclear.
Bedrock did not release images of the proposed amphitheater. It’s being sketched out by Cleveland-based DLR Group and Blueprint Studio, Live Nation’s in-house designers.
Michelle Jarboe is the business growth and development reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @MJarboe or email her at Michelle.Jarboe@wews.com.
