Live Nation has officially been approved to enter a 25-year contract with Kent County, Michigan’s Acrisure Amphitheater.
This week, the Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA) approved a resolution to allow Live Nation to provide the amphitheater with promotion and booking services amid a 25-year contract. According to the West Michigan’s ABC affiliate station WZZM 13, Van Andel Arena & DeVos Place General Manager Richard MacKeigan confirmed that the resolution passed unanimously by the CAA.
Just a day before the CAA vote, the Kent County Board of Commissioners voted 8-7 to allow the CAA to make the decision. The board’s decision faced controversy, as many pointed out that there should have been a bidding period to hear from different companies to earn the contract.
Additionally, Kent County Commissioner Ivan Diaz pointed to Live Nation’s legal woes; the entertainment giant is currently the target of an antitrust lawsuit alongside its ticketing subsidiary Ticketmaster. The suit aims to break-up the pair, citing anticompetitive and monopolistic business practices.
However, the CAA has existing contractual relationships with Live Nation; currently, the promoter provides services to the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place.
Through the new contract, Live Nation will offer amphitheater design and construction consulting services. The company also agreed it will pay $20 million to support the construction on site. The 12,000-capacity Acrisure Amphitheater is expected to open in May 2026 and host an estimated 54 ticketed performances per season.
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This certainly isn’t the first time Live Nation’s presence has stirred-up controversy; earlier this year, Live Nation revealed it acquired The Paramount, a 1,555-capacity venue in downtown Huntington, New York, as well as a new, seasonal, open-air concert venue — heading to Toronto, Ontario in 2025. The venue, dubbed Rogers Stadium, was met with criticism from locals.
Every time Live Nation announces a new venue, concertgoers are quick to share their dismay, citing the entertainment giant’s monopolistic practices. Portland, Oregon — one of the last larger cities in the U.S. that doesn’t have a venue owned by Live Nation — saw complaints from music fans across the city that the conglomerate would ruin Portland’s vibrant indie music scene. Fans also lashed out at the National Capital Commission after announcing it signed an offer to lease an agreement with Live Nation Canada to operate a new live music venue in downtown Ottawa.
A similar situation ensued when Live Nation quietly bought Brooklyn’s Bell House and after news broke that Live Nation would be involved in the return of Vans Warped Tour next year.
Additionally, fans lashed-out at the promoter amid a new rule that bans personal lawn chairs at amphitheaters. Out of the 37 amphitheaters listed on Live Nation’s website, 31 venues prohibit — or plan to ban — fans from bringing in outside chairs. If eventgoers do want to sit for the show, Live Nation will provide a chair of their own — for $15.
