Azura Amphitheater, also known as Sandstone Amphitheater, is an open-air
amphitheater
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
located in
Bonner Springs, Kansas
Bonner Springs is a city in Wyandotte, Leavenworth, and Johnson counties, Kansas, United States. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,837. Bonner Springs was incorporated as ...
, United States.
It is owned by the unified government of
Wyandotte County and
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of the ...
, shares its grounds with the
Kansas City Renaissance Festival and
National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame and is located adjacent to the Wyandotte County Park.
About Azura Amphitheater
/ref>
History
Designed by Bird Engineering, it originally opened in 1984,Clear Channel Communications
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
spun off its live events management division in 2005 to form Los Angeles-based Live Nation
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertainme ...
, which continued to manage the venue through the 2007 concert season. Locals simply refer to the venue as "Sandstone".
In September 2007, Live Nation announced that it would let its managing contract expire on December 31, 2007. In January 2008, the Unified Government Commission ratified a pact with local promoter Chris Fritz's New West Presentations, Inc., to operate the venue through the end of 2009, with a two-year option to extend the contract. Under the new deal with New West, the name would revert to Sandstone.
Through 2007, the venue featured 6,700 reserved seats and general admission lawn seating. Beginning in 2008, plans are underway to remove the majority of the reserved seats closest to the stage in order to make that area a general admission section. The change in the seating configuration is designed to let more fans get closer to the performers and eliminate costs of the extra security normally required. Additional structural changes include an upgraded VIP club and new sound and video systems. Through the years the stage has fought several limitations. For instance, a 37-foot roof is well below the norm, which often proves challenging to book shows.
Name
It has undergone numerous name changes since it opened:
* Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts (original name from 1983 to 1993)
* Sandstone Amphitheater (1993 to 2002, 2008)
* Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
* Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone
* Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
* Providence Medical Center Amphitheater
See also
* List of contemporary amphitheatres
References
{{Authority control
Amphitheaters in the United States
Buildings and structures in Kansas City, Kansas
Music venues in Kansas
Theatres in Kansas
Tourist attractions in Wyandotte County, Kansas
1984 establishments in Kansas