Longtime Riverbend General Manager Mike Smith is like the proverbial kid with a new toy.
He can hardly contain himself rattling off concert marketing possibilities as he gives a tour of the new 4,100-seat National City Pavilion that looms as a steel and mortar monolith on the northwest corner of the Riverbend grounds.
“This is even better than it looked on the drawings,” Smith says standing on the stage that is as big as Riverbend’s, the pavilion’s big sister venue. “I now have options. We have the capabilities to be competitive.”
Indeed, Smith has much to crow about. The new pavilion could radically energize the Cincinnati summer concert market. It fills a major void as the market has missed out on numerous tours because it lacked a mid-size venue. That void has been filled somewhat for those who don’t mind a trip to Kettering, near Dayton, to attend shows at the cozy 4,500-seat Fraze Pavilion.
However, in Cincinnati, after the clubs and the theaters, there has been no venue for an artist to play that is getting big, but not big enough to fill the arenas or Riverbend.
The National City Pavilion provides a unique marketing opportunity since Riverbend becomes the only outdoor concert facility in the country with two distinct stages. That should spell good news for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which owns Riverbend. The CSO has made an annual profit off the pop music shows that fluctuates between $1 million and $1.5 million.
The National City Pavilion will open Saturday (May 24) with a local flair as folk-pop duo Over the Rhine performs their 2003 double CD “Ohio” in it’s entirety. The next night, Sheryl Crow performs.
Even before one guitar lick is played, the new pavilion has already accomplished part of its mission---bringing concerts to town that might otherwise pass up the CIncinnati market. That’s clear from a quick glance at the 16 shows announced so far. For example, Smith says acts like Crow, Steely Dan (July 13), Peter Frampton (Aug. 6) and Stevie Nicks (June 26) were booking tours designed for mid-size arenas or large theaters, not convinced they still have the drawing power to put 12,000 or more in a big venue.
The National City Pavilion will come in at its $6.8 million budget, Smith says. The CSO partially financed it with a $3.25 million capital improvement grant from the State of Ohio. The balance was privately raised, most of it believed to be from the 10-year naming rights agreement with the Cleveland-based financial institution.
Smith said it would not make financial sense to build a new venue of this size from scratch. The existing Riverbend facilities--parking, restrooms, concessions--are used for the pavilion. Concert goers will enter through the regular Riverbend gates and the pavilion is positioned so the rear of the facility empties to the existing Riverbend concourse.
“You can’t just go build a 4,000 seat theater. In our case, because of the existing infrastructure, we can afford it and it makes sense,” Smith says.
Indeed, the business model will likely be watched and perhaps imitated by other concert facilities around the country. That’s because the entire concert industry is steering away from the huge outdoor shows.
“There are fewer artists capable of touring at the 15,000-20,000 seat level, whether it’s outdoors or indoors,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, the concert industry's leading trade publication. “The heart of the business is going to be moving into the mid-side venues.”
“The touring industry is healthy, but it is so diverse. You can’t put your finger on a single genre and say, ‘That’s pulling the train,’” Smith says. “You have a lot of people interested in a lot of niches. The clubs are the best environment because they are small enough to accommodate all those niches. We are now in the next step with this pavilion.”
The National City Pavilion is so well-positioned to take advantage of the current concert trends, it’s opening is reminiscent of Riverbend’s debut itself in 1984.
Riverbend was clearly serendipity for the CIncinnati Symphony Orchestra, perhaps not realizing the market it was opening up. The CSO built RIverbend for $9 million as a summer home for its orchestras. At the time there were only 16 such outdoor amphitheaters in the country, and the CSO quickly learned the venue could provide a lucrative non-traditional source of income from the blossoming outdoor pop and rock touring scene. Riverbend also brought live music back to the area with a vengeance, still suffering the hangover of the Who concert tragedy that saw the area’s concert scene dwindle. By the early ‘90s, the majority of the concert dollars in the U.S. were being spent at the outdoor “sheds.”
It’s possible by the end of the season National CIty Pavilion will have hosted more shows that Riverbend. Adding in CSO concerts, the two-stage facility could host over 55 events this summer, more than double what it did last year. That can translate to over 50,000 additional patrons through the turnstiles over a summer season.
Now it’s up to the concert consumer to vote on the new venue. Smith said season VIP ticket sales are ahead of projections. But, with gas prices going up and concert tickets not coming down, the new venue--and the touring business as a whole--will have a tough sell this summer.
Aesthetically, National City Pavilion looks like a hit. It’s entire design is aimed at creating a close connection between the artist and the audience. The last row would correspond to about two thirds of the way back in the Riverbend pavilion, but it feels closer since the upper area has a very steep rake putting one at eye level with the artist. While it is an amphitheater, it actually feels more like a theatre. With a curved structure centered at the stage there is not the open air feeling of Riverbend, but that means it should be acoustically far superior with the sound better absorbed. There are also special acoustic-friendly steel beams throughout the structure.
As the only outdoor facility in the country with two stages, Smith says they have some experimenting to do. Clearly a multi-band festival like the Warped Tour will love the arrangement since they usually build temporary second stages. But other than a touring festival, there are no plans to do simultaneous concert events.
Smith says the concert industry--mainly based in New York and Los Angeles- may not exactly have on its radar just yet the groundbreaking two-venue experiment here in the hinterlands. But he’s convinced it is a case of build it and the acts and people will come.
“It will take a season for the industry to catch on to this facility. I think it will take a week for the local consumer,” he says. “Once people go to a few shows, I think the word of mouth will circulate that this is a high-quality location.”
BEST BETS
Some best-bet concert experiences that should be perfectly suited for the 4,100-seat National City Pavilion:
- Over the Rhine (May 24): For better, and sometimes, worse, an Over the Rhine concert feels like you have been invited to their living room. They are the perfect test to see if the new pavilion is indeed an intimate concert experience.
- The Raconteurs with the Black Lips (June 10): Another local connection with the rhythm section comprised of former Cincinnatians Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler of the Greenhornes, now based in Nashville. The side project of Jack White of the White Stripes and singer-songwriter Brendan Benson, has quickly become one the buzz tours of the summer. A perfect case of a band too big for the clubs and theaters, but probably not able to draw enough for the big arenas.
- Steely Dan (July 13): The professorial Walter Becker and Donald Fagen never quite had the charisma to pull off the big arena show. Their live set is more jazz and improv even in their pop framework. Finally, a chance after all these years to see these guys in a cozier setting more suitable to their musicianship.
- Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra plays the Music of Led Zeppelin (Aug. 1): There are no plans for the CSO or Pops to regularly play the new pavilion. “This one just seemed to fit,” said Mike Smith, Riverbend general manager. Indeed, it has the biggest ticket buzz of the new pavilion’s lineup, according to Smith.
- Peter Frampton (Aug. 6): It’s good to support local musicians, even if they happen to be British rock stars who live in Indian Hill.
- Merle Haggard (Aug. 6): You can have the Kenny Chesney country/pop beach party. Here’s a chance to get up close with the electric-country pioneer.
Rick Bird is a freelance writer in Cincinnati and can be reached at [email protected].
Photography by Scott Beseler
National City Pavilion
NCP rendering
Raconteurs stage photos
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