Northside amphitheater promises more than concerts
Concerts with Mississippi River views are coming to the Northside. The Upper Harbor Amphitheater could bring in some big names, but how will Northside residents benefit?
The Community Performing Arts Center, an 8,000-capacity outdoor amphitheater, is under construction near I-94 and Dowling Avenue North. The venue is just one part of a broader Upper Harbor redevelopment, which includes a riverfront park that opened in September and planned housing and business spaces that have separate timelines.
Ashley Ryan, chief marketing officer at First Avenue, said the goal is to create a place where residents feel welcome.
“It doesn’t need a million VIP boxes. It doesn’t need upgrades around every corner,” Ryan said. “It just needs to be a space that the community can use.”
The City of Minneapolis owns the land, while Port of Minneapolis LLC will operate the venue. First Ave. will handle booking and programming and the Minnesota Orchestra has helped with fundraising, Ryan said.
During a site tour, Ryan pointed out an enclosed room intended for year-round community use. It can host workshops, gallery exhibitions, or community events.
“When there’s a show or a concert here, it’ll also be used probably for like an artist area,” Ryan said.
The venue is expected to open in summer 2027. Ryan expects roughly 10 to 15 shows during a “preview season.” As for who’s performing? Ryan isn’t sharing names yet, but there is a wish list.
“So we have a running list of, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool? Wouldn’t it be cool?’” Ryan said.
She said the team has been planning the project for more than a decade and is actively working through that list.
Under a signed community benefits agreement between Port of Minneapolis and the African American Community Development Corporation (AACDC), $3 from each ticket sold for commercial events will go into a community fund.
AACDC will manage the fund, which can support local businesses, artists, community programming and efforts to prevent displacement. Keith Baker, AACDC’s chair, said the organization is still developing the process for gathering proposals and distributing money.
“It’s fine to have a pool of resources. The question is, ‘How do we distribute it? How do we make decisions?’” Baker said.
There is no guaranteed annual dollar total in the agreement. The amount generated will depend on ticket sales.
The agreement also calls for a hiring referral program that prioritizes Northside residents. For food and concessions, the operator aims to fill six permanent locations with Northside, local, minority or women-owned businesses.
Other commitments include discounted tickets for Northside youth, internships or career pathways in venue operations and production. One idea Baker hopes to see is a program that teaches young people to operate drones and film performances. The concept is still being developed.
“That’s one thing I’m really looking forward to is making sure that young people are embedded into the operations of the facility itself,” Baker said.
In 2015, the City of Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board gathered ideas from residents through community meetings, surveys and focus groups. In 2019, the City Council created a collaborative planning committee and approved the broader redevelopment plan in 2021. Residents’ priorities included affordable housing, economic opportunities and preventing displacement, according to the city.
For Baker, the next step is turning the written commitments into benefits residents can actually use.
“Now, it’s really about being about the business of executing this in a way that delivers,” he said.
Comments