Sandstone Amphitheater

Capitol Federal Park

Logo for 2008 venue rebranding
Address 633 North 130th Street
Bonner Springs, Kansas 66012
Type Open-air amphitheatre
Opened 1984
Renovated 2008
Owner The Unified Government
Former name(s) Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts (1983–1993)
Sandstone Amphitheater (1993–2002, 2008)
Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (2002–2007)
Seating type Reserved, box and lawn seating
Capacity 18,000
Website www.sandstoneamp.com

Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone (originally Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts and formerly Sandstone Amphitheater and Verizon Wireless Amphitheater) is an open-air amphitheater, located in Bonner Springs, Kansas, near the Village West development. It is owned by the unified government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, shares its grounds with the Kansas City Renaissance Festival and is located adjacent to the Wyandotte County Park.

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History

Designed by Bird Engineering, it originally opened in 1984, as the 'Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts'. It was renamed 'Verizon Wireless Amphitheater', in June 2002, after Verizon Wireless bought the naming rights, for seven years, from Houston-based Clear Channel Entertainment, for an undisclosed amount. Clear Channel Communications spun off its live events management division, in 2005, to form Los Angeles-based Live Nation, 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 back 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, a 37-foot roof is well below the norm which often proves challenging to book shows.

Green initiatives

A primary component of the changes, in 2008, involve the venue's efforts to "go green" and become more environmentally friendly. These initiatives are evidenced in the venue's new logo. Free parking will be offered to those who carpool with, at least, 4 people in a vehicle or those who arrive in alternative fuel vehicles. LEED certification will also be a goal the venue hopes to achieve, by the use of solar panels and wind turbines for energy, setting up a compost site and allowing bio-fueled vehicle owners to collect used cooking oil.

Music events

See also