Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater is getting a brand new operator.
Metro Nashville has notified Ryman Hospitality Properties (RHP) that it intends to have RHP’s Opry Leisure Group (OEG) function Ascend Amphitheater for the following decade. The deal is topic to profitable negotiation between the 2 events. Axios first reported the information.
Colin Reed, government chairman of RHP’s board of administrators, tells Billboard he expects the negotiations to conclude throughout the subsequent three months and that the 10-year contract will take impact Jan. 1, 2026. It’s a realization of a dream for RHP that started even earlier than the 6,800-capacity out of doors venue opened in 2015. “We utilized for this a decade in the past when the town was deciding they have been going to construct [Ascend],” he says. “We and Reside Nation bid 10 years in the past. We liked the house then and we actually love the house now.”
RHP has aready dedicated capital to “beautify the challenge,” Reed says. “Improve it and make it extra of an expertise for the patron.”
RHP was chosen over Reside Nation and AEG. “We actually put our entrance foot ahead right here, so we all the time thought we had a shot, however beating two firms that, fairly candidly, we’ve got a excessive diploma of regard for — AEG, that handles all of our ticketing in all of our venues, in addition to Reside Nation, who we’ve got a wholesome relationship with — we have been more than happy,” Reed provides.
Ascend has averaged 20 to 30 concert events a yr, primarily in the course of the summer season season, however Reed says he expects to considerably broaden exercise on the venue.
A cap on 35 exhibits per yr was put in place when the amphitheater opened as a result of it’s in a residential space, Reed says, however “the problem for us is that this is among the nice items of actual property within the metropolis of Nashville and the way will we activate it for the opposite 330 days a yr as a result of it shouldn’t be saved fallow for that time period. We will do daytime programming. We will do Opry Beneath the Stars. We’ve spent fairly a little bit of time speaking with the symphony. There are a number of methods by which we will activate this house.” He’s additionally desirous to carry vacation choices to the Ascend from Thanksgiving to the top of December.
Ascend shall be an open room, that means different promoters, together with AEG and Reside Nation, can promote exhibits there. “We need to keep a superb relationship with these companies,” he says. “We’ll discuss to anybody that desires to play this nice metropolis.”
Ryman Hospitality’s OEG additionally runs Nashville venues the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry Home, along with having partnerships with Luke Combs‘ Class 10 venue and Blake Shelton‘s Ole Purple.
Reside Nation didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
