AEG Tunes Into RiNo With New Music Venue
With the opening of a 60K SF concert venue next summer, the RiNo neighborhood has yet another draw.
AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, one of the world’s leading producers and promoters of live entertainment, will open The Mission Ballroom at North Wynkoop, a 14-acre mixed-use project being developed by Westfield Co.
AEG Presents Rocky Mountains CEO Chuck Morris said he has spent the last 11 years searching for the perfect location and the right design for the venue.
“Westfield had 14 acres and a great location,” Morris said. “We immediately knew we had found the right partner.”
In addition to The Mission, the North Wynkoop development will have a 90K SF office and retail building. Westfield is renovating 80K SF of 1950s vintage warehouse buildings, which will be transformed into restaurants, bars and retail. Future phases of the project will include market-rate and affordable housing, a boutique hotel and the potential for an additional 1M SF of residential and commercial uses.
“We are fortunate to have the opportunity of working with AEG Presents on this innovative concept,” Westfield Senior Partner Kevin McClintock said. “The talents and experience of their team are unparalleled, and their dedication to the highest-quality musical experience aligns with our own long-term vision for North Wynkoop. The Mission Ballroom is the ideal anchor and will serve as the heartbeat for our project.”
Between 40th and 43rd streets along Brighton Boulevard just a block and a half from the light-rail station, The Mission will have a moving stage that gives it flexible capacity for seating 2,200 to 3,950 guests, unrivaled sight lines and the latest technology for sound and lights, Morris said.
“It will look sold out at any capacity,” he said.
Morris said he will start booking acts by mid-summer. He declined to disclose who he might target to play at the venue. The Mission also will be available for private parties and charity events.
For nearly 49 years, Morris has been a driving force in the Colorado music community. He built the legendary Tulagi nightclub in Boulder, which operated from 1970 to 1973 and was the site of first tours for notable up-and-comers such as the Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt, the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and ZZ Top. After Tulagi, he co-owned and managed Ebbets Field (1974-1978), which brought in early tours from acts such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Martin, Carole King and Richard Pryor. Ebbets Field was Billboard Magazine’s club of the year in 1975 and 1976.
Morris then joined promoter Barry Fey as senior vice president of Feyline, where he was responsible for running the booking and promoting department and was involved with storied artists such as the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Outlaw Tour featuring Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. He also had a successful management company under which he managed the careers of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Lyle Lovett and Big Head Todd and the Monsters.
In 1998, Morris launched Bill Graham Presents/Chuck Morris Presents, which later became Live Nation. He found the site for and helped develop the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, considered by many to be the finest midsize concert hall in the country. In 2007, Morris joined AEG Live as president and CEO of the Rocky Mountain Region. AEG Live Rocky Mountains books the Bluebird Theater, the Ogden Theatre, Gothic Theatre, Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Pepsi Center, as well as producing shows in Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Idaho and Nashville.
In 2011, Morris teamed up with Kroenke Sports Enterprises to open the 1STBANK Center in Broomfield. The 6,500-seat venue has hosted Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Further and Arcade Fire. It is home to the newly opened Colorado Music Hall of Fame.
In 2014, Morris orchestrated the takeover of Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre, pouring $5M into rebuilding the entire complex. Highlights of the first successful year were sellouts by Keith Urban, Zac Brown Band and Bruno Mars.
