Poplar Creek Music Theater was a concert venue located in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
Hoffman Estates is a village in Illinois, United States. The village is located primarily in Cook County, with a small section in Kane County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 52,530.
The village now serves a ...
. The
amphitheatre
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 ...
opened in 1980 and closed in 1994. It hosted a variety of popular musical acts during its 15-season existence. It consisted of a covered pavilion and grass seating area, and had a capacity of 25,202 people: 7,202 reserved seats and 18,000 lawn seats.
Attendance began to dwindle in the late 1980s, and Poplar Creek faced competition from the opening of the World Music Theater (now
Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre) in
Tinley Park
Tinley Park (formerly Bremen) is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. The village is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 55,971. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs ...
in 1990.
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
acquired the property in 1989 and allowed Poplar Creek to remain in operation until 1994.
In 2006, the
Sears Centre
The Now Arena (originally known as the Sears Centre, Sears Centre Arena and stylized as NOW Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb from Chicago, near land which formerly contained the Poplar Creek Musi ...
(as of 2020 the
Now Arena
The Now Arena (originally known as the Sears Centre, Sears Centre Arena and stylized as NOW Arena) is a multi-purpose arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a northwest suburb from Chicago, near land which formerly contained the Poplar Creek Music ...
) opened in Hoffman Estates, near the former location of Poplar Creek.
A new outdoor theater located next to the Sears Centre, and about one mile away from Poplar Creek's former location, had been approved for construction. With approximately 10,000 seats, this new venue would only be a fraction of Poplar Creek's capacity. However, the
great recession
The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
and its aftermath have left the project in an indefinite state of uncertainty.
Events
References
External links
Lisa's Web World - Poplar Creek Music TheaterSears Centre official siteVillage of Hoffman Estates - Sears Centre site informationPhoto, Aerosmith @ Poplar Creek. Hoffman Estates, IL - July 12, 1984
{{Music venues of Illinois , state=collapsed
Music venues in Illinois
Former music venues in the United States
1980 establishments in Illinois
1995 disestablishments in Illinois