Nikon at Jones Beach Theater Reopens After Sandy’s Devastation
Emerging from the Destruction of Superstorm Sandy, Live Nation Returns Nikon at Jones Beach Theater to New York Music Fans After Intense Collaborative Effort
New York, NY, June 01, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Live Nation Entertainment opened the doors again yesterday to one of its most unique concert venues, Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh (Long Island), NY, which was damaged catastrophically by Superstorm Sandy in October of last year. After months of reconstruction at a cost of more than $20 Million, Jones Beach will open its doors tonight, kicking off the season with a concert by country superstars Rascal Flatts.
“It’s an honor to be the performers to bring music back to this amazing venue and to our fans in New York,” shared Gary LeVox, lead singer for Rascal Flatts. “It was devastating to see and read about the damage Hurricane Sandy took on this area but it’s nice to know pleasant new memories will soon be made!”
“It was a priority for Live Nation to work quickly to return this historic venue to working order,” said Michael Rapino, CEO and President of Live Nation Entertainment. “Of course it was important to the artists who love to play at Jones Beach every summer and to the thousands of fans that come to a concert there. But it was also vital for the local community and the hundreds of employees who work at Jones Beach – so we actually started preparing for the potential clean-up and reconstruction efforts before the storm even arrived. It’s a testament to the single-mindedness and dedication of the entire reconstruction team that we were able to put Jones Beach back together in time for this summer’s great lineup of shows.”
Along with much of the coastal regions throughout New York and New Jersey, Superstorm Sandy inflicted catastrophic damage on the venue. Sandy generated a storm surge of 8-10 feet, and the ground floor, sub-structures and pathways under Jones Beach Theater, which sits right on Zachs Bay, were submerged. Much of the 14,000 seat venue was impacted from the surge, from the stage to the seats, the backstage and concessions and VIP areas were all severely damaged.
But before construction could even commence, more than 3 million gallons of sea water had to be pumped out of the venue, which then had to be cleaned from top to bottom. Hundreds of tons of debris and damaged structures and equipment had to be removed from the site.
It took an intense collaborative effort between Live Nation, insurer Zurich, architects EwingCole, construction company Skanska and the New York State Parks Department to get the required drawings, permits and other approvals in a very short time frame.
The stage and boardwalk and their substructures had to be completely rebuilt from scratch. More than 9 miles of special MCM cable had to be replaced in the tunnels and access ways below the venue. All the doors on the main level, more than 200 in total, had to be replaced. Where possible the venue’s infrastructure was redesigned to mitigate any future damages (i.e. the main electrical system was relocated to the second floor, above the 100 year floodplain) and replacement appliances and equipment were upgraded to energy efficient models.
The project created 225 jobs for local workers, contractors, vendors and union laborers in Nassau County. Many of those workers lived in the areas that were hardest hit by Sandy.
“It would be impossible for a project of this scope and under this kind time frame to succeed without the intense collaborative effort between all of the companies and government agencies involved,” said John Ahrens of Live Nation. “It shows how much can be accomplished if everyone involved shares the same vision.”
In addition to the bringing the venue back online, Live Nation was also able to introduce many upgrades to the newly renovated facility. Here are some of the new features that music fans will enjoy this summer:
- Brand new concessions operations
- Increased point of concession sales which were upgraded with latest technology to help speed transactions, resulting in lower wait times for fans
- Additional soda machine locations
- VIP area expanded by one third and was redesigned with brand new decking, updated furniture and renovated bathrooms.
- New artificial turf and brick walkways installed
- Brand new orchestra seating
- Upgraded Box Office
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater was named the Top Amphitheater at Billboard Touring Conference in 2012 and has been recognized as a top venue by such publications as Rolling Stone and Complex. Jones Beach once again has a star-studded summer lineup for 2013:
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater 2013 Summer Lineup
· May 31 Rascal Flatts
· June 1 Pitbull & Ke$ha
· June 22 Fleetwood Mac
· June 23 Rush
· June 25 & 26 Dave Matthews Band
· June 27 Heart
· June 28 & 29 One Direction
· July 6 The Rascals
· July 12 Phish
· July 13 311, Cypress Hill, G Love & Special Sauce
· July 14 Sublime with Rome, Descendents, Pennywise
· July 17 Daughtry & Three Doors Down
· July 18 Big Time Rush & Victoria Justice
· July 19 Lil Wayne, T.I. and 2 Chainz
· July 21 Blake Shelton
· July 23 Train, The Script, Gavin DeGraw
· July 25 Imagine Dragons
· July 27 Bob Dylan and his Band, Wilco, Beck, Ryan Bingham
· August 6 Wiz Khalifa & A$AP Rocky, B.O.B, Trinidad James, Joey Bada$$,
Pro Era
· August 10 The Black Crows & Tedeschi Trucks Band
· August 11 Honda Civic Tour Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson
· August 13 Backstreet Boys, Jesse McCartney, DJ Pauly D
· August 17 Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls
· August 18 Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival
· August 20 & 22 Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band
· August 28 John Mayer, Philip Philips
· September 7 The Allman Brothers Band, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
· September 8 Depeche Mode, Bat for Lashes
Twitter: @NikonJBT
#jonesbeachisback
About Live Nation Entertainment:
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Artist Nation Management and Live Nation Media/Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors.
Investor Contact:
Maili Bergman
IR@livenation.com
310.867.7000
Media Contact:
Jacqueline Peterson
jacquelinepeterson@livenation.com
310.360.3051
“It’s an honor to be the performers to bring music back to this amazing venue and to our fans in New York,” shared Gary LeVox, lead singer for Rascal Flatts. “It was devastating to see and read about the damage Hurricane Sandy took on this area but it’s nice to know pleasant new memories will soon be made!”
“It was a priority for Live Nation to work quickly to return this historic venue to working order,” said Michael Rapino, CEO and President of Live Nation Entertainment. “Of course it was important to the artists who love to play at Jones Beach every summer and to the thousands of fans that come to a concert there. But it was also vital for the local community and the hundreds of employees who work at Jones Beach – so we actually started preparing for the potential clean-up and reconstruction efforts before the storm even arrived. It’s a testament to the single-mindedness and dedication of the entire reconstruction team that we were able to put Jones Beach back together in time for this summer’s great lineup of shows.”
Along with much of the coastal regions throughout New York and New Jersey, Superstorm Sandy inflicted catastrophic damage on the venue. Sandy generated a storm surge of 8-10 feet, and the ground floor, sub-structures and pathways under Jones Beach Theater, which sits right on Zachs Bay, were submerged. Much of the 14,000 seat venue was impacted from the surge, from the stage to the seats, the backstage and concessions and VIP areas were all severely damaged.
But before construction could even commence, more than 3 million gallons of sea water had to be pumped out of the venue, which then had to be cleaned from top to bottom. Hundreds of tons of debris and damaged structures and equipment had to be removed from the site.
It took an intense collaborative effort between Live Nation, insurer Zurich, architects EwingCole, construction company Skanska and the New York State Parks Department to get the required drawings, permits and other approvals in a very short time frame.
The stage and boardwalk and their substructures had to be completely rebuilt from scratch. More than 9 miles of special MCM cable had to be replaced in the tunnels and access ways below the venue. All the doors on the main level, more than 200 in total, had to be replaced. Where possible the venue’s infrastructure was redesigned to mitigate any future damages (i.e. the main electrical system was relocated to the second floor, above the 100 year floodplain) and replacement appliances and equipment were upgraded to energy efficient models.
The project created 225 jobs for local workers, contractors, vendors and union laborers in Nassau County. Many of those workers lived in the areas that were hardest hit by Sandy.
“It would be impossible for a project of this scope and under this kind time frame to succeed without the intense collaborative effort between all of the companies and government agencies involved,” said John Ahrens of Live Nation. “It shows how much can be accomplished if everyone involved shares the same vision.”
In addition to the bringing the venue back online, Live Nation was also able to introduce many upgrades to the newly renovated facility. Here are some of the new features that music fans will enjoy this summer:
- Brand new concessions operations
- Increased point of concession sales which were upgraded with latest technology to help speed transactions, resulting in lower wait times for fans
- Additional soda machine locations
- VIP area expanded by one third and was redesigned with brand new decking, updated furniture and renovated bathrooms.
- New artificial turf and brick walkways installed
- Brand new orchestra seating
- Upgraded Box Office
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater was named the Top Amphitheater at Billboard Touring Conference in 2012 and has been recognized as a top venue by such publications as Rolling Stone and Complex. Jones Beach once again has a star-studded summer lineup for 2013:
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater 2013 Summer Lineup
· May 31 Rascal Flatts
· June 1 Pitbull & Ke$ha
· June 22 Fleetwood Mac
· June 23 Rush
· June 25 & 26 Dave Matthews Band
· June 27 Heart
· June 28 & 29 One Direction
· July 6 The Rascals
· July 12 Phish
· July 13 311, Cypress Hill, G Love & Special Sauce
· July 14 Sublime with Rome, Descendents, Pennywise
· July 17 Daughtry & Three Doors Down
· July 18 Big Time Rush & Victoria Justice
· July 19 Lil Wayne, T.I. and 2 Chainz
· July 21 Blake Shelton
· July 23 Train, The Script, Gavin DeGraw
· July 25 Imagine Dragons
· July 27 Bob Dylan and his Band, Wilco, Beck, Ryan Bingham
· August 6 Wiz Khalifa & A$AP Rocky, B.O.B, Trinidad James, Joey Bada$$,
Pro Era
· August 10 The Black Crows & Tedeschi Trucks Band
· August 11 Honda Civic Tour Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson
· August 13 Backstreet Boys, Jesse McCartney, DJ Pauly D
· August 17 Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls
· August 18 Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival
· August 20 & 22 Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band
· August 28 John Mayer, Philip Philips
· September 7 The Allman Brothers Band, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
· September 8 Depeche Mode, Bat for Lashes
Twitter: @NikonJBT
#jonesbeachisback
About Live Nation Entertainment:
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) is the world’s leading live entertainment company comprised of four market leaders: Ticketmaster.com, Live Nation Concerts, Artist Nation Management and Live Nation Media/Sponsorship. For additional information, visit www.livenation.com/investors.
Investor Contact:
Maili Bergman
IR@livenation.com
310.867.7000
Media Contact:
Jacqueline Peterson
jacquelinepeterson@livenation.com
310.360.3051
Contact
Live Nation Entertainment
Jacqueline Peterson
310-867-7000
www.livenation.com
Jacqueline Peterson
310-867-7000
www.livenation.com
Contact
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