Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre facts for kids
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Venue during Epicenter 2013
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| Former names | Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre (1981-99; 2014-16) Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (2000-14) |
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| Address | 8808 Irvine Center Drive Irvine, CA 92618 |
| Coordinates | 33°38′15″N 117°44′59″W / 33.63750°N 117.74972°W |
| Owner | Irvine Company |
| Operator | Live Nation |
| Type | Amphitheatre |
| Seating type | Reserved seating, lawn seating |
| Capacity | 16,085 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | August 21, 1981 |
| Closed | October 30, 2016 |
| Demolished | Late 2016 |
The Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre was a big outdoor concert place in Irvine, California. It was also known as the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre for many years. This famous venue was open from 1981 until it closed in 2016.
Contents
History of Irvine Meadows
This concert venue was built in 1980. Four local investors helped pay for it. It had over 10,000 seats and almost 6,000 spots on a grassy hill where people could sit. This made it the biggest outdoor concert venue in Orange County for a long time.
Gin Wong Associates designed the amphitheatre. It was built on a hillside, which gave it a cool, natural slope towards the stage.
From Safari Park to Concerts
Before the amphitheatre was built, the land was part of Lion Country Safari. This was a special park where animals roamed freely, and people could drive through to see them. The safari park closed in 1984.
The owner of the safari park had a long-term agreement for the land. In 1981, they allowed the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre to be built on part of it. After the safari park closed, the land next to the amphitheatre became home to the Wild Rivers water park and a summer camp called Camp James. Both of these closed in 2011. The land was then used to build new homes.
Famous Music Festivals and Shows
Irvine Meadows was well-known for hosting many popular music festivals. These included Area2 Festival, Fishfest, Gigantour, Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Projekt Revolution, and Uproar Festival. It also hosted a special concert to help the family of Social Distortion guitarist Dennis Danell.
Since 1987, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra performed there every summer. The venue also hosted the yearly KROQ Weenie Roast concert.
In 1998, a company called Live Nation (which used to be SFX Entertainment) took over the management of the amphitheatre.
New Name and Final Shows
In April 2000, the amphitheatre changed its name to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. This was part of a big sponsorship deal with Verizon Wireless. Verizon renewed this deal once, keeping the name until 2014. After that, they did not renew it again, so the venue went back to its original name, Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, in 2015.
The very last performer at the venue was Gwen Stefani. She played two concerts on October 29 and 30, 2016.
Closure of the Amphitheatre
The Irvine Company, which owned the land, told the amphitheatre operators that their agreement would not be extended past 2016. So, Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre closed down. Demolition began in November 2016, right after the last concert. The Irvine Company decided to build new homes on the land. This meant the entire area that was once Lion Country Safari would become a large housing development.
After Irvine Meadows closed, Live Nation and FivePoint built a temporary outdoor concert venue. It was called FivePoint Amphitheatre and was located at the Orange County Great Park. It was meant to be used for about three years.
Notable Concerts and Events
Many famous musicians and bands performed at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre over the years.
1980s Concerts
- Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were the first rock band to play there on September 18, 1981. Stevie Nicks even joined them on stage for a song.
- Ozzy Osbourne recorded a live performance there on June 12, 1982.
- Queen performed on September 11, 1982.
- The Grateful Dead played at the amphitheatre fifteen times between 1983 and 1989.
- Oingo Boingo held their popular annual Halloween concerts at the venue from 1986 to 1991, and again in 1993.
- Tangerine Dream performed on June 6, 1986.
- The Smiths played there on August 28, 1986, during their The Queen Is Dead tour.
- Bon Jovi performed for three nights in a row from June 20–22, 1987.
- Michael Jackson had three concerts at the amphitheatre from November 7–9, 1988, as part of his Bad tour.
- Metallica played for three nights from September 21–23, 1989.
1990s Concerts
- Rush performed on June 29, 1990.
- A big concert with Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, Dangerous Toys, and Metal Church happened on July 12, 1991.
- Glenn Danzig performed a Halloween concert in 1992.
- The Eagles played for six nights in a row from May 27 to June 1, 1994.
- Prince and the New Power Generation performed on October 12, 1997.
- Phish played two concerts in 1999 and 2000.
2000s Concerts
- Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Dio performed on August 24, 2003.
- Dream Theater and Megadeth played on July 24, 2005.
- Kelly Clarkson performed on August 1, 2006. After her show, she wrote a song called "Irvine" about the venue.
- Miley Cyrus performed in October 2008 for a show promoting her TV series Hannah Montana.
2010s Events
- Fall Out Boy performed on March 26, 2016.
- Bernie Sanders held a political rally at the venue on May 22, 2016.
See also
- List of contemporary amphitheatres
