‘The sizzle that sells the steak’: Les Schwab Amphitheater expects to bring in some $20 million this summer
(Update: adding information)
Big names on big summer concert series that's already breaking records
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Les Schwab Amphitheater is preparing for its busiest season of the year -- and quite possibly its most profitable one -- after the severe pause caused by COVID-19.
At the moment, the venue has announced 21 concerts and counting, a new record. The previous record number of shows was 17. And all of this year's concerts are packed between August and October.
John Legend is the latest addition to the list, with a Sept. 12 concert announced Tuesday.
Eastes said the big-name shows are "a direct result" of the newly renovated stage and the recently announced partnership with Live Nation.
In a 2016 study, the Les Schwab Amphitheater found that each concert brought in about $1 million for the Old Mill and surrounding businesses.
A 2015 survey found 71% of visitors only came to Bend because they were attending a concert at Les Schwab Amphitheater and 55% of visitors paid for lodging.
"It's the sizzle that sells the steak," Beau Eastes, marketing director for the Les Schwab Amphitheater told NewsChannel 21 on Tuesday. "It's not just the Old Mill District that benefits from these shows. It's Bend as a community in general."
Eastes says he expects this year's concert lineup will bring in more money than ever before, with a resulting broad economic impact for businesses in the Old Mill District and well beyond. It's an economic impact that Eastes said will likely be bigger than ever before.
"I think people are coming and staying a little bit longer, and they are spending a little bit more money, because they didn't have these vacations from years past," Eastes said.
The amphitheater will also be adding about 300 jobs, once the season kicks off in August.
Here's the full list of concerts announced so far:
August 12 – Rebelution
August 13 – Mt. Joy + Trampled by Turtles
August 15 – Dierks Bentley
August 17 – Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
August 18 – Primus
August 20: Cypress Hill and Atmosphere
August 21 – Old Dominion
August 26 – Dirty Heads/Sublime with Rome
August 29 – Modest Mouse
September 4 - Brandi Carlile
September 5 - Brandi Carlile
September 6 – Death Cab for Cutie
September 8 – Dave Matthews Band
September 12 – John Legend
September 18 – NEEDTOBREATHE
September 21 - Foreigner
September 26 – Lord Huron
September 30 - Luke Bryan
October 1 – Luke Bryan
October 3 – My Morning Jacket
October 7 – 311 + Iration
