Ruoff Music Center
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| Former names | Deer Creek Music Center (1989-2001) Verizon Wireless Music Center (2001-2011) |
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| Address | 12880 East 146th Street |
| Location | Noblesville, Indiana |
| Coordinates | 40°00′19″N 85°55′52″W / 40.00516°N 85.931061°W |
| Owner | Live Nation |
| Type | Outdoor amphitheatre |
| Seating type | reserved, lawn |
| Capacity | 24,000 |
| Opened | 1989 |
| Website | |
| www.livenation.com | |
The Klipsch Music Center[1] (formerly Verizon Wireless Music Center and originally known as Deer Creek Music Center) is an outdoor amphitheater, owned by Live Nation, located in Noblesville, Indiana. The center is the largest outdoor music venue in the Indianapolis metropolitan area of central Indiana, with 6,000 seats under a pavilion and 18,000 general admission lawn seats. It is used mainly for large concerts, but is also frequently a host for high school graduations and political rallies. It opened in 1989 at a site along Sand Creek just north of Exit 210 on Interstate 69 near the junction of former Indiana State Route 238 (at the time also known as Greenfield Avenue; now rebuilt and renamed as Southeastern Parkway), 146th Street, and Boden Road. In 1997, Sunshine Promotions, which built the amphitheater, was acquired by SFX; corporate successor Live Nation Entertainment continues to own it.[2]
Concerts and music festivals
The Klipsch Music Center is a large open-air concert venue capable of hosting live, high-profile concerts and outdoor music festivals, including Phish, Dave Matthews Band (who liberated "Typical Situation" in 2012), Projekt Revolution, Ozzfest, Crüe Fest, Lilith Fair, The Vans Warped Tour, The Mayhem Festival and Farm Aid.
The Grateful Dead played 14 out of 15 scheduled concerts here from 1989 through 1995. During the performance on July 2, 1995, a number of fans stormed a rear fence, attempting to enter without paid admission. As a result, The Dead's last concert at the facility, the following night, was canceled. Musician Keller Williams memorialized this gate-crashing event in his song, "Gate Crashers Suck."
Phish performed and recorded their show, on August 13, 1996, which was later released as a live album, entitled Live Phish Volume 12 and has played the venue 25 times, making it a priority spot for most of Phish's touring schedule.
Rihanna was scheduled to perform during her Last Girl on Earth Tour on August 3, 2010, with Ke$ha and Travie McCoy as her opening acts, but the show was cancelled due to low ticket sales.[3]
2006-2007: Possible sale
On December 28, 2006, Live Nation, the owner of the music center, confirmed they were putting up for sale the 203 acres (0.82 km2) of land that constitutes the amphitheater complex, then known as the Verizon Wireless Music Center. Regardless of the sale, Live Nation said it was committed to the 2007 concert season.
As of June 9, 2007, the Indianapolis Business Journal, a local business newspaper, reported, "But no acceptable offers have been received, and several local brokers say the unofficial asking price of more than $40 million is outrageous."2
On August 15, 2007, the Indianapolis Business Journal had a new report stating "Noblesville's Verizon Wireless Music Center is no longer for sale and will host a full lineup of shows in 2008, the facility's general manager, Steve Finkel, told IBJ this afternoon."
In 2011, Klipsch Group, Inc., whose international headquarters are located nearby, acquired naming rights to the venue.[4] Called the Klipsch Music Center since 2011, the venue remains under the ownership of LiveNation and continues to draw major acts during the summer months.
Notable Acts who have performed at the venue
- The Grateful Dead
- Phish
- Frank Sinatra
- Dave Matthews Band
- The Who
- Elton John
- Bob Dylan
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
During the Tom Perty & The Heartbreakers show on June 15, 2013 Tom Petty announced to the crowd that it was the largest crowd that the venue has ever had, consisting of over 25,000 people.
References
- ^ "Move over Verizon; new name will be Klipsch Music Center". The Indianapolis Star. Gannett Company. 27 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ SFX BROADCASTING BUYING SUNSHINE FOR $50 MILLION
- ^ "Rihanna cancels two more tour dates". USA Today. July 9, 2010.
- ^ [1]
External links
Municipalities and communities of Hamilton County, Indiana, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |