MCKINNEY (WBAP/KLIF News ) – One of the fastest growing cities in North Texas will soon be home to one of the largest open-air, covered amphitheaters in the country.
The Colorado Springs-based music venue Notes Live announced Tuesday that it will build a $220 million, 20,000 -capacity amphitheater in McKinney.
The world class facility is going be built on 46 acres just northeast of U.S. 75 and State Highway 121 and is slated to be the largest venue in the company’s collection.
It’s going to be called the Sunset Amphitheater and will feature comfortable seating with a direct sightline to the stage, crystal clear sound, gourmet food and drinks and views when the sun is setting over the stage will be breathtaking.
The venue is modeled after Notes Live’s thriving food and music center in Colorado Springs, the project will feature over 250 luxury fire pit suites, traditionally reserved seating (mid and lower bowl), a landscaped grass berm and custom-built Owners Club suites.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be bringing our biggest venue to date to McKinney, Texas,” says JW Roth, Founder and CEO of Notes Live. “They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and for the Sunset Amphitheater in McKinney, that was our guiding principle – bigger, and better. McKinney is an incredible community, and we can’t wait to build the most over-the-top venue on earth.”
The venue is the product of the joint effort by the city, the McKinney Economic Development Corporation and the McKinney Community Development Corporation.
“This world-class music venue is a game-changer for our entertainment offerings in McKinney and will be a boon for our economic growth and tourism sector. With a state-of-the-art venue of this size, we can draw some of the largest musical acts to the city and attract fans from across Texas and the surrounding states,” said Mayor George Fuller. “This new addition to our community will bring even more life and energy to our already thriving arts scene and undoubtedly continue to set McKinney apart as an entertainment and cultural hub in the region.”
Notes Live said McKinney’s arts, recreation, and tourism scene made it a perfect fit for the company, which aims to construct its amphitheaters in growing cities that have almost everything except grand-scale outdoor live music venues.
McKinney hosts two days of “Texas Music Revolution” in June, which features over 90 country performers on 20 different stages across the area – and major sports attractions, including the 12,000-seat McKinney Independent School District football stadium, and the annual CJ Cup Byron Nelson PGA tournament, McKinney has been a cultural center for a long time, and the Sunset Amphitheater will elevate the entertainment landscape even higher.
The Sunset Amphitheater development is expected to bring a major economic boost for the region; supporting over 1,300 direct and indirect jobs and creating over $3 billion of regional and local economic activity in its first 10 years of operation.
Notes Live is working on several major projects in other growing cities nationwide including venues in Broken Arrow and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company’s initial open-air Sunset Amphitheater in Colorado Springs, CO broke ground in March 2023, and is set for a grand opening August 9, 2024.
As for North Texas, the venue promises to make the region an even more popular entertainment destination.
“It’s an amazing honor to get to bring an amphitheater like this to Texas. Between JW’s tenacity and vision, and McKinney’s entertainment spirit, we’re not just building a music venue, we’re building a music destination,” said former Dallas Cowboys player and three-time Super Bowl winner Chad Hennings, who sits on the Notes Live Board of Directors.
Construction is projected to begin in late 2024 and is set to be completed in time for the concert touring season in 2026.
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