Zoo Amphitheater

[Urbanized]

Besides having my own great memories at Zoo Ampitheater going back to the early ‘80s, I recently discovered via newspaper archives and ancestry research that my own paternal grandfather (who I never knew…he passed when I was six months old) was very likely involved in the construction of it, along with other zoo features. I found an article in his hometown (Luther) newspaper that he and another young man from there reported to the CCC camp at Lincoln Park in fall of 1934. Not sure (yet) how long he stayed with the CCC, but that time frame would roughly coincide with the building of the amphitheater. He would have been 23.

Suffice to say that I’m in the “retain and restore” crowd when it comes to Zoo Amp.

[Jersey Boss]

What! No firepits? /s/. Not that the summer concert season has use for them.
Sunset just needs to go away. I don't believe this market needs 2 or can support 2.

[bison34]

What! No firepits? /s/. Not that the summer concert season has use for them.
Sunset just needs to go away. I don't believe this market needs 2 or can support 2.

Well, Zoo Amp has a shelf life. It was never meant to be permanent. OKC has just never had a private developer try to build one better. The Zoo wants to develop that area badly

[Jersey Boss]

Well, Zoo Amp has a shelf life. It was never meant to be permanent. OKC has just never had a private developer try to build one better. The Zoo wants to develop that area badly

Who or what says the Zoo facility was never meant to be permanent? I take issue with the claim that what is proposed by Sunset is better. Apparently the Zoo in fact is going ahead with renovations, not developing it into something else. The Zoo apparently does not want to develop this land "badly" for other purposes.
Read post #11 if you think otherwise.

[bison34]

Who or what says the Zoo facility was never meant to be permanent? I take issue with the claim that what is proposed by Sunset is better. Apparently the Zoo in fact is going ahead with renovations, not developing it into something else. The Zoo apparently does not want to develop this land "badly" for other purposes.

It's too small. It holds 7k. Most festivals and summer tours need 10k to make money. That's from a music buddy of mine.

And there is a hard limit on events allowed at the Zoo Amp. That's how you know it was never meant to be permanent.

[PhiAlpha]

It's too small. It holds 7k. Most festivals and summer tours need 10k to make money. That's from a music buddy of mine.

And there is a hard limit on events allowed at the Zoo Amp. That's how you know it was never meant to be permanent.

We’re building a 10,000 plus seat outdoor stadium in the middle of downtown, the zoo amp doesn’t need to be a 10,000 person capacity venue to be successful…it’s worked fine for nearly a century.

[bison34]

We’re building a 10,000 plus seat outdoor stadium in the middle of downtown, the zoo amp doesn’t need to be a 10,000 person capacity venue to be successful…it’s worked fine for nearly a century.

Everything is more expensive now. Everything. Including summer music tours. Doubt that stadium will be used for concerts much. Just like Scissortail Park. Maybe 10 larger scale concerts in 5 years. Outdoor concerts downtown haven't worked much. Hence why you need a true 10k+ fan amphitheater. Every major metro in the country basically has one. Why should OKC be the exception?

[bison34]

We’re building a 10,000 plus seat outdoor stadium in the middle of downtown, the zoo amp doesn’t need to be a 10,000 person capacity venue to be successful…it’s worked fine for nearly a century.

Double post

[BoulderSooner]

It's too small. It holds 7k. Most festivals and summer tours need 10k to make money. That's from a music buddy of mine.

And there is a hard limit on events allowed at the Zoo Amp. That's how you know it was never meant to be permanent.

so 100 years is temp to you??

and the hard limit is like 26 events .. IIRC

[PhiAlpha]

Well, Zoo Amp has a shelf life. It was never meant to be permanent. OKC has just never had a private developer try to build one better. The Zoo wants to develop that area badly

What in the world are you basing this on? It’s been there for like 100 years. It was built to be an amphitheater and no one has ever said it wasn’t a permanent venue. What is the hard limit of events allowed there?

Who has ever even alluded to wanting “badly” to develop the zoo amp? If the zoo wanted to develop it that badly…they would’ve done it.

You seem to make a lot of statements with no basis in reality. I’m sorry the zoo amp didn’t request FAA clearance from the airport director.