Cleveland energy-intimacy amphitheater

Article posted by Coliseum, March 11^th, 2026

Image: Bedrock

Bedrock and the American sports and entertainment holding company – the Rock Entertainment Group – will bring an outdoor amphitheater to downtown Cleveland (US) as part of its transformational development on The Riverfront.

‘ROCK Entertainment Group’ stated that the 6,200-seat entertainment venue will be operated under an agreement with the Live Nation, which has a long history of promoting live entertainment in Cleveland, to host the concerts, the festivals and the other events. Adjacent to the National Basketball Association (NBA) team Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center the amphitheater amplifies Bedrock’s vision to create an active waterfront destination with publicly accessible, open space for the community in downtown Cleveland.

Bedrock is a Detroit and Cleveland (US) based full-service commercial real estate firm specializing in strategic urban development.

Cleveland (US)-based the Rock Entertainment Group’s mission and focus is to optimize the position as world-class operators in sports and entertainment by developing a unified, branded platform for relentlessly creating amazing experiences for the fans, the teams, the partners, the stakeholders, and their thousands of staff members across the spectrum of properties.

Beverly Hills (US)-based the Live Nation Entertainment is the global leader in live events and ticketing. With business operations and corporate functions across major divisions including Ticketmaster, Concerts, Media and Sponsorship, and Artist Nation they offer exciting opportunities across every discipline.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland (US). The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference.

The 19,432-capacity Rocket Arena is a multipurpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio (US). The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

‘ROCK Entertainment Group’ quoted Nic Barlage, Rock Entertainment Group head honcho who oversees Bedrock’s strategic direction in Cleveland, as stating, “This outdoor amphitheater on the Cuyahoga River will be a dynamic community gathering place and a strategic investment in downtown Cleveland’s growing experience-driven economy. In partnership with the global powerhouse Live Nation we will deliver a new premier venue that draws the visitors, vitality and the economic development to the urban core and continues our transformation of the riverfront into an active, energized destination.”

Part of a burgeoning entertainment ecosystem in Cleveland the proposed amphitheater will showcase a range of performances across genres, from the national headliners to the global touring acts and the local artistes. Capitalizing on the exceptional seasonal views of the Cuyahoga River and the City skyline the venue is projected to attract thousands of annual visitors to the City Center generating nearly $59M in economic impact. The first new large music venue to be built in Cleveland in more than 20 years it will fill a void in the market and reinforce the City’s position as a music capital of the world.

Maintained Michael Belkin, Live Nation Ohio Market President, “Cleveland has always been one of America’s great music Cities and this amphitheater is about raising the bar to match that legacy. By creating a modern, leading outdoor venue on the riverfront we’re giving the artistes another reason to play Cleveland, giving the fans more of the shows they want close to home. This investment not only honors the City’s rock ‘n’ roll roots but it also positions Cleveland to compete with the other regional markets for the biggest tours in the country.”

Bedrock has enlisted the local architecture firm – the DLR Group – as the Lead Designer for the amphitheater with support from the Blueprint Studio, Live Nation’s in-house design and development group. Designed for both energy and intimacy the venue will be big enough for the national touring acts while maintaining an artiste-audience connection.

The DLR Group is an integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, interiors, planning, and building optimization for new construction, renovation and adaptive reuse. Its promise is to elevate the human experience through design. This promise inspires sustainable design for a diverse group of public and private sector clients, the local communities and the planet.

The project is a component of The Riverfront – a catalytic plan to reimagine 35 acres of underutilized land along the Cuyahoga River (river in Ohio) and the historic Tower City. Development on The Riverfront is well underway and Bedrock has advanced major infrastructure and site work along the waterfront and the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center is fully enclosed and will be operational next year.

Bedrock and the Rock Entertainment Group’s plans for The Riverfront, the Tower City and the Rock Block are part of a larger focus to expedite an experience-driven economy in Cleveland.

This includes the riverfront amphitheater and the anticipated unveilings of Cosm Cleveland, the Cavs’ Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, the mixed-income residential options, a 3,000-foot publicly accessible riverwalk, and more. The Riverfront is an integral component of the City of Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb’s transformational Shore-to-Core-to-Shore (SCS) development plan. The SCS connects Cleveland’s core Downtown Business District and the Neighborhood to its two waterfronts – the Cuyahoga River and the Lake Erie (one of the Great Lakes in North America) through a series of urban spaces, parks, streets, and plazas.

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