Jeramey Jannene
Eyes on Milwaukee

Indoor Concert Complex Planned Next To Summerfest

800 and 4,000 seat theaters would offer year-round entertainment.

By - Dec 2nd, 2021 01:54 pm
FPC Live concert venue in the Historic Third Ward. Rendering by Eppstein Uhen Architects.

FPC Live concert venue in the Historic Third Ward. Rendering by Eppstein Uhen Architects.

Summerfest could soon have a year-round musical neighbor.

FPC Live, a Madison-based concert promotion and venue operations company, plans to open an indoor concert complex in the Historic Third Ward.

Plans call for 800 and 4,000 seat theaters with scalable capacities in a connected complex.

Marquee Ventures, a third-party real estate firm, would lease and develop a 1.25-acre site owned by Summerfest-parent Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. FPC would operate the complex.

“Having venues of this caliber will make Milwaukee a must-play destination for all artists both at the developing level and those on the verge of playing arenas, amphitheaters, and stadiums,” said FPC co-president Charlie Goldstone in a statement. “We are excited to add these rooms to the city, connecting more artists to more fans in Milwaukee.”

FPC is already a partner MWF on booking non-Summerfest events at the American Family Insurance Ampitheater and BMO Harris Pavilion. It also books certain events at Fiserv Forum.

“We are thrilled to extend our partnership with FPC Live to increase access to live entertainment year round,” said Don Smiley, President & CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, Inc. “Music fans are familiar with visiting the lakefront to see their favorite artists; these new venues will extend that experience.”

FPC hopes to start construction in early 2022 and open the venues following Summerfest 2023.

FPC is a for-profit arm of Frank Productions. MWF is a non-profit corporation that leases Henry Maier Festival Park from the City of Milwaukee and, in addition to its own events, subleases it to a number of other festivals.

The development site includes parts of 607-627 E. Summerfest Pl., 639 E. Summerfest Pl. and 100 N. Marshall St. based on project renderings. It is privately owned by MWF. The properties are located north of E. Erie St. and east of N. Jackson St.

The proposal is subject to design approval from the Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board. It would also need approval from MWF’s public landlord, the City of Milwaukee Harbor Commission because a portion of the site connects with leased land.

Eppstein Uhen Architects is serving as the designer.

FPC owns or operates venues in Madison, Charleston, SC and Columbia, MO. Its Madison venues including The Sylvee, Orpheum Theater, Majestic Theatre and High Noon Saloon.

Live Nation Entertainment owns a majority interest in FPC parent Frank Productions.

Marquee Ventures, the real estate firm that would own the complex, lists Frank Productions director of development Lee Christensen as its registered agent and uses Frank Productions mailing address.

Renderings

If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.

2 thoughts on “Eyes on Milwaukee: Indoor Concert Complex Planned Next To Summerfest”

  1. Polaris says:

    That’s a pretty big site…good to see it being developed for such an exciting project! A little nervous about what this might mean for current MKE music venues. Too bad there isn’t interest in something like this at 4th and Wisconsin, or Broadway and Clybourn across from Husch Blackwell, or at Water and Knapp on the riverfront site Marcus Corp. is sitting on (again teasing MKE with a possible downtown movie theater…).

  2. Mingus says:

    Does this area really need another music venue when we have so many already? I am sure that this parcel of land could have been used in the future for some facility that would have benefited the entire community and not just a wealthy rock concert promoter.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us