Live Nation to open music venue near Momentary in Bentonville

Beverly Hills, Calif.-based Live Nation Entertainment said Tuesday (March 10) that it’s working with the Momentary to open a 46,327-square-foot music venue in Bentonville.

Bentonville Ballroom will have a capacity of 2,500 people and be built on 1.75 acres at the northeast corner of Southeast Eighth and Southeast E streets. This is just south of the Momentary and west of the parking garage and 8th Street Market.

Plans have yet to be approved by the city, but the venue is expected to open in 2028. Live Nation will be the operator. The live entertainment company declined to disclose how much it will invest in the project and whether the property will be leased. The property is owned by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

According to an economic impact study by Oxford Economics, the new venue is expected to have a total economic impact of $46.3 million annually and support 280 jobs, including the full- and part-time employees of the Bentonville Ballroom. Its starting wages would be $20 per hour. The project is expected to generate about $4.9 million in state and local tax revenue.

Anthony Nicolaidis, Live Nation’s Arkansas market president, said he expects the new venue to bring more music to Northwest Arkansas. The Bentonville Ballroom is expected to have more than 100 concerts and attract over 200,000 fans annually. The number includes more than 80,000 visitors from outside the metro area.

“Due to its design and technical capabilities, we’re going to be able to attract more artists to the region,” Nicolaidis said. “It’s mind-blowing to me. It’s so cool. I don’t think there’s anything like it … And when they play there, and they experience how cool Bentonville is, they’re going to want to come back.”

Nicolaidis also expects a “healthy special event business. I think because of the design, people are going to want to have a little fun there: corporate events, meetings, weddings, special events.”

The venue is being designed by Blueprint Studio, Live Nation’s in-house design and development group, the New York City office of Copenhagen, Denmark-based Bjarke Ingels Group, and Arkansas-based Polk Stanley Wilcox. The conceptual design features natural materials, warm wood tones and “a layout that bridges the Ozarks’ textures and light into the performance space,” according to a news release. A general contractor has yet to be named.

The company has also been a preferred promoter at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion (AMP) in Rogers. The AMP is owned by the Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville.

Nicolaidis said he’s spent more than 10 years coming to understand the area and becoming a Northwest Arkansas ambassador to the music business. The new venue has been his dream, and he said he’s excited that it’s happening. He’s been working for years to bring the venue to Bentonville and highlighted the importance of partnering with the Momentary and the new music venue’s location.

“When the Momentary invited us to collaborate on this, it made the most sense,” Nicolaidis said. “I just think being a neighbor next to the Momentary is awesome, and being so close to the Bentonville Square will just create a great fan experience.”

The Momentary is a Crystal Bridges sister organization featuring contemporary arts and an entertainment venue. The 63,000-square-foot satellite to Crystal Bridges is supported by the Walton Family Foundation and was founded by the Walton family, based on the vision of brothers Tom Walton and Steuart Walton and Tom’s wife, Crystal Bridges board Chairperson Olivia Walton. The Momentary opened in February 2020.

“Bentonville is a destination for arts and culture, and food, and the Momentary ignited the city’s music scene,” said Tom Walton, chair of the Momentary Council. “The Bentonville Ballroom will be a beautiful new cultural landmark. We’re happy to invite Live Nation to our campus. Their experience connecting artists and fans will accelerate our city’s momentum with year-round, quality music experiences for residents and visitors.”

Nicolaidis said the Bentonville Ballroom will be two levels, with the upper level including some fixed seating, a premium lounge, and a VIP area “that has a great view of Bentonville, which is very unique.” The lower level will include general admission. There, chairs can be put on the floor, as in an arena, he said. The venue will also accommodate comedy and theater shows. That capacity will be between 1,200 and 1,300 people.

According to the release, Live Nation will work with residents and city officials to review plans and share input. The new venue is expected to use the adjacent parking garage for parking and connect to the city’s cycling infrastructure.

“We’re excited to see this investment in Bentonville’s live music infrastructure and enthusiastically support the Bentonville Ballroom project,” said Kalene Griffith, president and CEO of Visit Bentonville. “Live music delivers real economic value for Bentonville and attracts audiences from our community, the region, and beyond. In addition to music, the Bentonville Ballroom will also strengthen our unconventional convention offerings and expand our capacity to host high-impact cultural and business events.”

LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT
In a Monday (March 9) settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Live Nation said it will allow all its amphitheaters to be open to all promoters on how best to distribute up to 50% of the tickets and put a 15% cap on service fees. Live Nation will also divest its 13 exclusive booking agreements with amphitheaters nationwide.

All owned and operated amphitheaters will continue to be operated by Live Nation as open venues. Ticketmaster will provide exclusive and non-exclusive ticketing proposals to all major concert venues. If venues choose to do so, they may distribute some portion of their tickets through other primary ticketing marketplaces. The DOJ settlement doesn’t include a financial component.

The company has created a $280 million settlement fund to address the states’ damages claims as the DOJ settlement doesn’t settle the state’s claims. In May 2024, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin joined the DOJ and 29 other attorneys general in filing an antitrust lawsuit against the company.