Music news
McKinney to get mega new outdoor amphitheater rivaling venues in Dallas
Sunset Amphitheater McKinney
A giant new music venue is coming to McKinney. Called the Sunset Amphitheater, the $220 million venue will be an open-air amphitheater with a capacity of 20,000, with a planned debut in 2026.
The venue will be on a 46-acre plot northeast of US-75 and SH-121. According to a release, construction will begin in late 2024.
With a capacity of 20,000, that would put the venue in line with with American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas, which also has 20,000 seats, the same as Dos Equis Pavilion in Fair Park, but smaller than AT&T Stadium in Arlington which has 80,000 seats, and the Cotton Bowl, also in Fair Park, which has seating for 92,000.
According to the release, every seat in the house will have a direct sightline of the stage. More than 250 luxury fire pit suites are also planned. Food and drinks will be "gourmet" — not your typical concert fare.
McKinney currently boasts a 12,000-seat McKinney Independent School District football stadium, and is home to events such as the annual country music festival Texas Music Revolution in June, and the CJ Cup Byron Nelson PGA tournament.
The venue will be done by Notes Live, a new Colorado-based music venue and hospitality company focused on building luxury venues. Their crown jewel is The Sunset, an 8,000-person open-air amphitheater in Colorado Springs, slated to open in 2024. They currently have projects in Colorado Springs and Gainesville, Georgia with plans (and "investment opportunities") for facilities in Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas, featuring seating capacities between 12,500 and 25,000.
“I couldn’t be more excited to be bringing our biggest venue to date to McKinney, Texas,” says Notes Live CEO JW Roth. “They say everything’s bigger in Texas, and for the Sunset Amphitheater in McKinney, that was our guiding principle – bigger, and better. McKinney is an incredible community, and we can’t wait to build the most over-the-top venue on earth.”
McKinney Mayor George Fuller calls the new venue a game-changer for McKinney.
“With a state-of-the-art venue of this size, we can draw some of the largest musical acts to the city and attract fans from across Texas and the surrounding states. This new addition to our community will bring even more life and energy to our already thriving arts scene and undoubtedly continue to set McKinney apart as an entertainment and cultural hub in the region.”
