The owners of Colorado Springs’ Ford Amphitheater will open a new music venue in Centennial, adding another live-music option to a metro area that’s struggling to keep up with concert demand.
The former, 50,000-square-foot Celebrity Lanes site, at 15755 E. Arapahoe Road, will now become The Hall at Bourbon Brothers and Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern — the latest location in Ford Amphitheater owner VENU’s ambitious national expansion.
VENU already operates the Phil Long Music Hall at Bourbon Brothers in Colorado Springs, as well as a location in Gainesville, Ga. Much like its newly built, $40 million Ford Amphitheater, the Centennial location will offer upscale food, drink and other perks, according to a statement.
Designers envision a “state-of-the-art indoor music hall, private event space, and restaurant, all rooted in VENU’s signature premium style,” with Luxe FireSuites (also at the 9,570-seat Ford Amphitheater) and other upgrades for those who can afford it, owners said.
“We have assembled a powerhouse team of architects, designers, and operators to deliver the ultimate destination in Centennial,” VENU founder and chairman J.W. Roth said in a statement. “It will set a new standard not just for Denver, but for the entire industry. Like everything else we do, this will be over the top.”
VENU expects to close on the property on June 1, with “fractional ownership opportunities” for luxury spots close behind. Its model relies on the growth of Front Range concert demand, which has expanded each year since 2021 as artists transform what would normally be a Red Rocks or Ball-Arena focused visit into multi-show stops at large venues in Loveland, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Dillon.
That’s because concerts at Red Rocks and other venues sell out so quickly that promoter AEG Presents, which books the majority of large Denver concerts, can sell additional venues and multiply the value for artists of visiting our relatively isolated tour-routing hub.
Being indoors also means Bourbon Brothers likely won’t see the same kind of friction that Ford Amphitheater has experienced from its close-by neighbors since it opened in 2024 — with more than 600 noise complaints registered in its first two weeks alone. VENU, the neighbors, and the city of Colorado Springs have had a monthslong back-and-forth over the issue has only partially resolved neighbors’ concerns.
VENU also plans to open upscale Sunset Amphitheater live-music venues — which is what Ford Amphitheater was called before Ford bought the naming rights — in Oklahoma and Texas, hosting between 12,500 and 20,000 guests, the company said.
