Prosper Portland regularly engages with the Central Eastside Industrial Council’s land use committee about its strategic priorities in the district and shared regular updates about the project. In addition, Prosper Portland held two community round tables in June and September 2023 to provide input on the Johnson Economics’ impact study and to address questions and/or concerns about the project. Prosper Portland also attended a fall 2023 event convened by MusicPortland to hear from community and provide information and clarification.
Collecting data on the live music industry can be challenging. Pollstar data is readily available and cited in the report; however, it is limited based on which venues submit data on a regular basis. With feedback from local industry partners participating in the round tables, MusicPortland also provided data from NearHear, a free event calendar and music aggregator that coordinates local events in the Portland metro area for smaller venues.
The report affirms that a proposed concert venue addresses gaps in the current entertainment venue offerings in the Portland market. This type of venue will drive increased numbers of visitors and foot traffic to Portland’s central city. The important role and benefits of cultural venues has been repeatedly highlighted in various analyses in addition to the economic impact statement, including through the Governor’s Central City task force convening and findings.
Specific to LiveNation as a tenant in the Beam/Colas-owned venue, LiveNation shared the following commitments as part of discussions with community partners: Live Nation would operate as an “open venue” enabling other booking agents to schedule at the venue and they estimated that annually 16% of bookings at the venue to be made available to outside promoters.