Portland Approves Controversial Plan to Bring Live Nation Venue to City

Live Nation is one step closer to arriving in Portland, Oregon this year after the city’s economic development agency approved a plan to sell a vacant lot to developers.

Portland, Oregon is one of the last larger cities in the U.S. that doesn’t have a venue owned by Live Nation, but earlier this year, a city hearings officer approved a venue development plan. The approved proposal will see an empty lot, owned by Prosper Portland at the east end of Hawthorne Bridge, be turned into a 3,500-capacity venue. While two Portland firms — Beam Development and Colas Development Group — plan to build the venue, Live Nation would operate the space.

Local promoters and concertgoers don’t see Live Nation’s presence as anything but detrimental to the music scene. The volunteer-based independent organization MusicPortland has been leading the resistance against Live Nation’s involvement, noting in a report that “this proposed partnership has the potential to cause far more harm than good to the Portland music scene.”

After the proposal was approved, MusicPortland raised $6,000 to appeal, noting that the project violates city zoning codes and is a safety hazard to Southeast Water Avenue. Additionally, MusicPortland objected the safety and logistics of the site. Dunphy explained that a majority of the parking spaces for concerts at the venue will be across the Central Eastside train tracks.

MusicPortland also called-out Live Nation for its infamous monopolistic business practices alongside Ticketmaster. The pair are currently subjects of an antitrust lawsuit by the Department of Justice and 39 states, which aims to break-up the longtime duo.

The Portland City Council unanimously upheld their August decision to approve plans for the venue last week. Ahead of the vote, Mayor Ted Wheeler said that the council was considering a narrow land use question, rather than Live Nation’s business practices.

“I have plenty of things I would like to say, but I cannot,” Wheeler said. “The question of whether we like a person [in land use questions] is not relevant.”

The vote is set to be finalized on October 2.