| Address | 8808 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, California, United States |
|---|---|
| Location | Irvine, California, United States |
| Type | Amphitheatre |
| Opened | August 21, 1981 |
| Former name(s) | Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre (1981-2001) |
| Seating type | Reserved seating, lawn seating |
| Capacity | 16,085 |
The Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (formerly Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre) is anamphitheater, located in Irvine, California. Built as Irvine Meadows Amphitheater in the 1980s and opened in 1981,[1] the name was changed to Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in 2001. Since 1987, it has been the summer home of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra.[2] It is home to the annual KROQ Weenie Roast, except in 2000.
The amphitheatre is currently Orange County's largest amphitheater. Until the opening of the Irvine Spectrum entertainment center and the nearby Quail Hill development, the amphitheater was located closer to neighborhoods and shopping centers in nearby Lake Forest and Laguna Hills than it was to neighborhoods and retail activity in the city of Irvine. The amphitheater is located at 8808 Irvine Center Drive, just to the southwest of the El Toro Y, where I-5 meets I-405. The land the amphitheater occupies is owned by the Irvine Company.
The amphitheatre has played host to music festivals, including The Uproar Festival, The Area2 Festival, The Gigantour, Projekt Revolution, Lollapalooza and Lilith Fair. A benefit concert for then-recently deceased Social Distortion guitarist Dennis Danell, dubbed "When the Angels Sing", took place here on May 6, 2000.[3] On the bill were The Offspring, Pennywise, X, T.S.O.L. and Social Distortion.[4][5] The benefit concert also marked Social Distortion's first show with Danell's permanent replacement Jonny "2 Bags" Wickersham.