Bring your rain gear; you'll probably need it. After more than 11⁄2 years of planning and construction, Friday's official opening of the 8,000-seat outdoor Ford Amphitheater in Colorado Springs could be a very wet affair. "It's not looking good," said Alan Rose, a meteorologist with Gazette news partner KOAA .
The amphitheater, developed by Colorado Springs-based entertainment company VENU as the city's first open-air concert facility, opens its gates at 6 p.m. Friday at the Polaris Pointe mixed-use development, southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard on the city's far north side.
Rock band Magic Giant is scheduled to take the stage around 7:30 p.m. at the amphitheater and will be followed by OneRepublic , the pop band whose Friday, Saturday and Sunday shows will headline the new venue.
But an unseasonably cool and wet, fall-like weather pattern that's moved into the Colorado Springs area is expected to persist the next few days and likely will bring rain Friday around the time the Magic Giant and OneRepublic performances get underway, Rose said. As an outdoor facility, only the Ford Amphitheater stage is covered; its seating areas — a mix of fixed seats, fire-pit suites and general admission lawn seating — are in the open. "While the morning could be dry, the afternoon and evening are expected to be wet, with the potential for heavy rain at times," Rose said.
The cool temperatures will lead to a more stable "atmospheric environment" and the potential for th.