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 thunderstorms will be lower the next few days, he said. "But the rain, again, could be quite heavy, quite persistent," Rose added. Despite that forecast, JW Roth, VENU's founder, chairman and CEO, remained upbeat about the kickoff of the amphitheater, the roughly $90 million facility that he's overseen since proposing it in early 2022.
An avid music fan, Roth said some of the best outdoor concerts he's seen have been played in the rain, including the Rolling Stones at the University of Colorado's Folsom Field in Boulder in October 1981. "It poured rain, and it was awesome," he said. Roth advised concert-goers to invest in inexpensive, disposable rain ponchos.
Concert-goers also can bring small umbrellas that fold to the length of their forearms, though large umbrellas aren't allowed, the amphitheater's website says. Whatever happens, the shows will go on rain or shine, as spelled out on the amphitheater's website . "It's the Super Bowl for us," Roth said of the Ford Amphitheater's opening night.
"You play the Super Bowl, rain, snow, sleet, it doesn't make any difference. Some of the greatest Super Bowls in history were played in a snowstorm. "To be honest with you, outdoor concerts, that's part of it," Roth added.
"The weather is going to be what the weather is." And some concert-goers already were preparing for the wet weather. "I’ve been to many shows at Red Rocks in the rain," said one commenter on a Facebook group that's devoted to the Ford Amphitheater, referring to the Denver-area outdoor music venue.
"It’s the risk we take for outdoor venues. To echo the crowd — ponchos are a lifesaver." Along with Friday's weather forecast, here are some other details to know about the amphitheater: • Colorado Springs police officers, hired by VENU, are scheduled to be on hand to direct traffic in and out of the facility, which is located on the far west end of Spectrum Loop , a road that rings the amphitheater site.
• Despite the presence of police, area roads — such as Voyager Parkway, Interstate 25 and North Gate and Powers boulevards — are expected to be busy. Complicating traffic conditions: a portion of Voyager, between the north and south ends of Spectrum Loop, remains closed for at least the next two months because of a road project. • Paid parking will be available at two on-site amphitheater surface lots that will accommodate nearly 925 vehicles.
• Free parking will be available on a first-come, first-served basis along Spectrum Loop, which is a public street. • Free, remote parking also will be available at the Bass Pro Shops store at Polaris Pointe and at the Compassion International ministry, southwest of Voyager and Middle Creek parkways and about 1 mile south of the amphitheater. Bass Pro is about an 8- to 10-minute walk from the amphitheater.
A shuttle service, meanwhile, will take concert-goers back and forth between Compassion and the venue. • A list of items that can be brought into the venue, others that are prohibited and a bag policy — among other information — can be found on the amphitheater's website..
