West OKC residents worry $100 million amphitheater will ruin their neighborhoods

Neighbors of a proposed $100 million amphitheater in west Oklahoma City are seeking to stop the project amid concerns over noise and traffic they fear will ruin their quiet suburban community.

The 12,500 seat Sunset Amphitheater, to be built by Colorado-based Notes Live, is being promoted in an aggressive campaign aimed at selling suites. The venue, which would be the second-largest in the city, is being hailed in commercials as a “game changer” by Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell.

Area residents, however, worry what that change will mean for their neighborhoods and schools.

James King, a resident of the Westbury neighborhood, asked the city council this week to slow the project before approving zoning that would allow construction to start by this summer. He urged them to form a committee to look at how the venue will impact residents in the Westbury neighborhoods.

“The noise will affect generations to come,” King said. “The facility will have three exits along Sara Road and one along SW 15. They’re talking about 5,000 cars coming into this area for a concert. That will back up traffic for miles all the way to I-40. That’s going to block us from getting in and out of our neighborhoods.”

The neighborhoods along Sara Road, just north of SW 15, are 2,000 feet from the amphitheater, which is to be built in the Mustang Creek development. The site is 1,250 feet (about a quarter of a mile) north of Mustang Elementary and Mustang North Middle School.

Notes Live representatives hosted a town hall after announcing the project last summer, but King said the meeting was poorly attended, and he and his neighbors did not see notices distributed by the developer.

Zoning for the amphitheater was approved by the city’s planning commission on Jan. 11 and is set for a city council introduction on Feb. 13 followed by a public hearing on March 12.

“Look at these plans they submitted to the planning commission,” King said. “Look at them and how poorly thought out they are. Form a committee to look at them further.”

What is Sunset Amphitheater?

Sunset Amphitheater is a chain of live music venues being developed by Notes Live founder JW Roth.

Roth owns smaller music venues in Colorado Springs and Gainesville, Georgia, but the amphitheaters represent a new business model based on sales of firepit and VIP suites.

Construction started on the first amphitheater last summer in Colorado Springs. The company also announced plans to build amphitheaters in Broken Arrow, Dallas and Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

If built, the Oklahoma City amphitheater would be second in size only to Paycom Center in the market.

David Box, attorney for Notes Live, said he cautioned Roth the zoning request would likely face stiff opposition. He said Notes Live commissioned traffic and noise experts and went beyond what most other clients do to address potential concerns.

They blanketed the area about the meeting, about a mile, and rented out Mustang Auditorium,” Box said. “The facility holds 1,500 people. We sent out 5,000 invitations, and 29 people showed up. It was a good turnout in terms of work that no client has done.”

Robert Mudd, senior vice president of real estate at Notes Live, said he will respond to neighbors’ concerns and believes the amphitheater design and zoning address most of their concerns.

He said the company’s amphitheater development is a response to Live Nation, AEG and Oakhurst, the three largest concert operators, saying that middle market cities do not have suitable venues for their April through October tours.

“We didn’t just want to build a shed,” Mudd said. “If you’ve been to amphitheaters, typically they are fairly simple facilities. We want to build a high hospitality, world class acoustics where people are not just going to a concert but also for an experience.”

Mudd said the site, currently owned by Mustang Creek developer Sam Coury, was chosen because of the ability to address traffic flow with connections to Interstate 40 and the Kilpatrick Turnpike and because of the ability to direct sound in areas that will never be developed into neighborhoods.

In meeting with residents and city planners, Notes Live agreed to require concerts to end by 10:30 p.m. Mudd said the amphitheater will include sound monitoring stations that will allow the operator to require the concert promoter to bring sound within required limits.

A study by Kimley Horn, a firm already working with the city of traffic and transportation planning, indicates a 40-minute span for traffic leaving after concerts.

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The development plan includes 3,600 parking spots, which Mudd expects will provide ample parking for a sold-out concert. He said their assumption is based on the average car carrying up to three people and the number of visitors traveling by other means.

“We’re assuming 30% of participants will arrive by something other than a car, by ride share or drop offs,” Mudd said. “This is consistent with what we see in other markets.”

The property includes a former stretch of the Kilpatrick Turnpike that was abandoned when the toll road was extended farther west. That roadway was acquired by Cory, and he arranged with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to build an overpass where the roadway, to be named Sunset Boulevard, will extend underneath to connect with Mustang Road.

Another exit will be located to the east of the schools, and three exits are planned along Sara Road — across from the Westbury neighborhoods.

Notes Live also saw noise and traffic concerns in Colorado Springs. The company recently won a lawsuit against the project, and the Colorado Springs Sunset Amphitheater is set to open in August.

Traffic, noise and vibrations during school hours among other concerns for amphitheater

Funding is in place for widening of SW 15 past the amphitheater site, but Sara Road between the venue and the Westbury neighborhoods is a two-lane street with no shoulders. King said the streets already back up with traffic due to parents dropping off and picking up students.

Westbury resident Kristen Bruce, a homeschool mom with seven children, said a concession by Notes Live to prohibit sound checks before 2 p.m. to accommodate school concerns will still leave her with distractions as she teaches later into the afternoon.

Mudd acknowledged yet another concern about vibrations can’t be completely mitigated.

Councilwoman Barbara Peck attended the October town hall and is asking Notes Live to host another meeting before the city council vote. She said area residents stay busy and are not always to able to attend such meetings. She encouraged residents to call her office at City Hall at 405-297-2402 or email her at ward3@okc.gov.

She said she recently added Sara Road to the city’s unfunded bond project list and is hoping to get it added to the next bond election.

“Development is important to Oklahoma City,” Peck said. “And this part of Oklahoma City is going to develop. We want to do that the best way possible and constituents’ concerns need to be addressed as best as possible.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC residents worry Sunset Amphitheater plans will ruin neighborhoods