Following nearly two hours of criticism from neighbors of the Ford Amphitheater on Tuesday night, Colorado Springs leaders doubled down on pledges to require additional sound-dampening measures at the new concert venue.
“What I heard is you want action, not just patience,” Mayor Yemi Mobolade told the crowd gathered at The Classical Academy’s Brown Center for the Arts. “We’re hearing you loud and clear.”
More than 200 people registered for the city-sponsored listening session, organized following the seasonal closure of Colorado Springs’ first major outdoor music venue.
The much-anticipated debut of the amphitheater promised to bring in big names ranging from OneRepublic and the Beach Boys to Primus and comedian Jim Gaffigan, along with millions in local economic impact.
But, the opening was quickly plagued by controversy, as surrounding residents railed against (and sued over) noise levels well in excess of both city code and state law.
Neighbors miles away from the venue complained of bass-rattled windows, exacerbated PTSD symptoms and children unable to sleep through profanity-laden songs playing well past their bedtimes.
“We were told that sound would be mitigated, etc. etc., and the truth of the matter is it’s not,” resident Matt Grubisic said before the start of the listening session. “We live two and a half miles (away) and we can’t even sit on our patio and have a barbecue. I got grandkids. The Godsmack concert really slapped us around.”
Supporters praised the parking and community, to scoffs from detractors who say the city prioritized the venue over locals
The amphitheater did have its vocal supporters at Tuesday’s meeting. Some speakers praised the venue for its accessibility for people with disabilities. Traffic and parking around the site, which were expected to be a major headache when the amphitheater was first proposed, were commended as relatively smooth and professionally handled.
“The Ford Amphitheater is perfect for me,” neighbor Tony Colloura said. “We live within walking distance of the venue and my wife and I actually walked to the opening night and we saw the people that were there, the families, friends and everybody getting together and seeing a great show. It brought something to the community that we haven’t had here.”
However, when asked if Grubisic expected to hear anything to alleviate his concerns on Tuesday, his response was “I doubt it.”
And that seemed to be the sentiment of many in attendance. Proponents of the venue were regularly presented with scoffs and audible laughter.
Organizers read from slips of paper drawn at random from a glass snowman jar — the names of those wishing to address Mobolade and City Council President Randy Helms from a set of neatly arranged chairs on stage.
The dozens who spoke castigated a city administration who issued a blanket noise hardship permit for the amphitheater, exempting it from the neighborhood’s noise ordinances in a move they say put the amphitheater’s profits above the wellbeing and property values of locals.
They also criticized the media for trumpeting an independent study of the venue’s noise levels, which showed concerts mostly abiding by the project’s initial noise agreement, but that opponents claim was incomplete and misleading.
Will complaints over this amphitheater scuttle plans to build other venues like it?
JW Roth, CEO of Venu, the company behind the amphitheater, watched from the audience, though he did not speak during the event.
His Colorado Springs-based company, which opened for public trading on the stock market in late November, intends to franchise the venue’s concept in similar sized cities around the country.
Oklahoma City turned down the proposal amidst fears of public backlash over noise and parking, while plans for other planned locations are still up in the air.
Barrier walls and other sound-mitigation efforts are on the way
Colorado Springs and Venu previously announced a list of improved sound-mitigation efforts that will be installed at the site before the start of the 2025 concert season.
These include prohibiting fireworks outside of the 4th of July and increasing the size of buffer walls around the property.
City Planner Kevin Walker told the Tuesday crowd the development plan for those larger barrier walls was submitted this week and would need to be approved early next year for construction to be completed in time for the amphitheater’s opening.
Mobolade also announced Tuesday night that the city was commissioning another third-party sound study for next year’s season and pledged to release a dedicated page on the city’s website detailing the progress of improvements at the amphitheater site.
