March 15, 2017
On March 14, 2017, Irvine City Council unanimously approved a plan between Live Nation Entertainment and Five Points Communities Management to build and operate an interim outdoor amphitheater next to the Orange County Great Park to replace Irvine Meadows Amphitheater, which closed in October 2016 after 35 years in operation. The site of where Irvine Meadow Amphitheater used to be is being redeveloped as a residential area. The site of the new interim venue is less than two miles from the now-removed Irvine Meadows. The opening date for the interim venue has not been announced, but Live Nation plans to stage the first concert there later this summer.
According to a Five Point Communities Management press release: “Music fans and community stakeholders, many wearing red ‘Save Live Music Irvine’ T-shirts, filled the council chambers with the overflow crowd watching on closed circuit TVs elsewhere in City Hall. Speakers from all segments of the community, including business, labor, education and the performing arts, as well as several longtime Irvine Meadows season ticket holders, asked the council to approve the plan for the interim venue and accelerate action on a permanent amphitheater on city-owned land in the Great Park. When the council voted 5-0 to approve the proposal, the crowd inside the chambers erupted in applause and cheers.”