Merriweather Post Pavilion, located in Columbia, MD, has undergone more than $1 million in enhancements, including a new food facility, a music pinball hall of fame (a quarter per game), three times as many restrooms, sculptures and green initiatives.
“I love thinking of things that ‘wow’ people, but just as important, the basic functions need to be the best they can be,” Seth Hurwitz, chairman of IMP and operator, programmer and promoter of Merriweather Post Pavilion for the past six years, said in a statement. “The number one comment we hear from women is about restroom facilities. Men want bigger beers, women want bigger bathrooms.”
He continued, “The only way to beat this economy is to create the best possible escapism you can. It’s not simply about who’s playing, it has to be about the great experience from start to finish. We have to make sure all these people taking ‘staycations’ choose Merriweather for their entertainment and the only way to do that is to make sure people have a blast.”
Hurwitz added, “The bottom line is that if you have fun and are treated well, you’re coming back. We serve food that we’d want to eat, we treat people how we’d want to be treated and we have created a place we’d want to go to.”
Some of the artists performing at the amphitheater this summer include sold-out shows by Kenny Chesney, Phish and Taylor Swift, as well as Jane’s Addiction with Nine Inch Nails, the 2009 Vans Warped Tour, and the Allman Brothers Band with Widespread Panic.
The image accompanying this article is from the Merriweather Post Pavilion Web site.
