Proposed Live Nation Venue Draws Opposition from Portland Arts Organizations

Entertainment giant Live Nation has plans to bring a new venue to Portland, Maine, but arts organizations are fighting back, hoping to preserve their local music scene.

In December, it was announced that Live Nation teamed-up with Scarborough developer Mile Marker Investments to bring a 3,300-seat music venue to Portland. The venue is expected to host more than 125 events per year, creating 250 full and part-time jobs. Construction on the venue would begin in fall 2025, with an expected opening in late 2027.

According to the Portland Press Herald, representatives from the State Theatre, Portland Ovations, the Portland Symphony Orchestra and Space sat down to share their concerns of the new venue.

The organizations claimed Live Nation would cannibalize the local music scene and pointed to the ongoing antitrust lawsuit against the company and its ticketing subsidiary Ticketmaster. The pair are subjects of the suit, brought forth by the Department of Justice and 39 states, which claims anticompetitive and monopolistic practices.

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The State Theatre also pointed to a specific anticompetitive issue in Portland; last month, the pop-punkers of Simple Plan began selling tickets to a show in June, however, just a week later, the venue had to cancel the show and refund ticketholders. The band is slated to provide support for Avril Lavigne at the Maine Savings Amphitheater in Bangor, a show promoted by Live Nation.

According to the Press Herald, Lauren Wayne, president of the State Theatre, was told Simple Plan cancelled their show in Portland because it was too close to the Bangor concert.

“It was due to Live Nation’s pressure,” Wayne told the publication. “This is important to note that the band was not allowed to tour in a venue they didn’t want to play.”

Live Nation denied its involvement in the cancellation of Simple Plan’s show, however, noting in an email to the Press Herald that the show was called-off because of “logistical conflicts.” Additionally, the promoter said the proposed venue is intended to complement, not compete, with existing venues in the area.

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Arts organizations believe competition would definitely take place with Live Nation’s involvement. Aimee Petrin, executive and artistic director of Portland Ovations, told the Press Herald that “everybody here is working on the edge.”

“This is the thing that would push many over the edge,” Petrin said. “It’s so outsized.”

Portland Ovations’ associate director Casey Oakes echoed similar sentiments, noting that “this venue is literally being built across the street from an existing venue.”

“We’re not going to have new artists,” Oakes told the publication. “We’re not going to have new opportunities. What we’re going to do is see the market shrink and all go to one place. They’re going to take from the State. They’re going to take from Cross Arena. So Portland doesn’t win. Live Nation wins.”

Parking is also an issue plaguing the minds of local venues. Petrin said that the area already struggles with parking, and in the past, concertgoers have decided to forego a show because they couldn’t find parking. Alongside the State Theatre, the proposed Portland Music Hall is set to be built right next to Merrill Auditorium.

“Imagine if we have a concert at Merrill on a night that there’s a concert there,” Petrin said. “There’s going to be a half dozen trucks trying to get down Myrtle Street and Cumberland Ave. There’s going to be patrons who can’t walk three blocks, who aren’t taking public transportation.”

Mile Marker Investments’ managing director Todd Goldenfarb told the Press Herald that they don’t plan on adding parking to the new venue and is confident the city has enough parking to accommodate multiple venues.

“We’re hopeful that if we can educate our ticketholders about the best way to get to our building, there will be success for everyone,” Goldenfarb said.

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This isn’t the first time locals have been upset with Live Nation trying to enter its local music scene. Every time Live Nation announces a new venue, concertgoers are quick to share their dismay, citing the entertainment giant’s monopolistic practices.

Portland, Oregon — one of the last larger cities in the U.S. that doesn’t have a venue owned by Live Nation — saw complaints from music fans across the city that the conglomerate would ruin Portland’s vibrant indie music scene. Fans also lashed out at the National Capital Commission after announcing it signed an offer to lease an agreement with Live Nation Canada to operate a new live music venue in downtown Ottawa.

A similar situation ensued when Live Nation quietly bought Brooklyn’s Bell House and after news broke that Live Nation would be involved in the return of Vans Warped Tour.