Murfreesboro to drop project to build amphitheater in Gateway area
The City and Notes Live had agreed to a plan to build a 4,500-seat amphitheater, upscale casual restaurant and event center.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WSMV) - The City of Murfreesboro said plans for an amphitheater project will not continue.
Notes Live had planned to build the amphitheater, a restaurant and an event venue in the Gateway area. The city announced Tuesday it has elected not to move forward with the project due to Notes Live’s inability to meet the conditions set forth in its development agreement with the city.
The agreement called for Notes Live to construct a state-of-the-art open-air amphitheater with seating for 4,500 people, Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern, an upscale, casual dining restaurant, and Boot Barn Hall, a 400-500-seat table setting, acoustically designed music and event venue that can be converted into 1,400 standing-room general admission hall.
“We had high expectations for the project, but unfortunately the project changed, and those changes significantly altered what was agreed to in the development agreement,” Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland said in a news release. “The city is committed to finding the best project and use for this site. The City Council has already approved the infrastructure improvements to Medical Center Parkway, and we look forward to those being completed.”
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The new live entertainment campus was to be built on 20.13 acres at the southeast corner of Medical Center Parkway and Gateway Boulevard.
The agreement signed in August 2022 called for work to begin on the development no later than June 1, 2023. In May 2023, the city agreed to extend the deadline for starting work until Dec. 31, 2024.
According to the city, Notes Live said it would not be able to begin the project under the terms of the development agreement due to economic conditions and interest rates that are higher than when the agreement was signed. Notes Live recently requested a substantial modification from the original agreement by requesting an increase to the amphitheater capacity from 4,500 seats to 6,500 seats and dropping the restaurant and event center from the project.
Notes Live will transfer the land back to the city due to failure to begin work on the project. The City is initiating steps to take the property back per the conditions set forth in the agreement, according to a news release.
The City of Murfreesboro will continue to seek a public-private partnership that would yield similar economic impacts in the development of the property.
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