Local businesses await impact of Bridgeport’s newest concert venue
Bridgeport’s newest concert venue won’t be open until sometime next year, according to developers.
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Mar 26, 2019, 6:52 PM
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Updated 1,949 days ago
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Bridgeport’s newest concert venue won’t be open until sometime next year, according to developers.
The plan was to originally convert the Ballpark at Harbor Yard to a concert amphitheater that was set to open this spring.
Developer Howard Saffan and concert promoter Live Nation broke ground on the project last summer, a few months later than planned.
Due to “unforeseen structural issues” that need to be addressed, the opening date for the venue has now been pushed back to 2020, Saffan said in a statement this week.
City officials say whenever construction is completed, the amphitheater will be a centerpiece of the city's revitalized entertainment district.
The venue is expected to have a substantial impact on neighborhood businesses.
Bridgeport Regional Business Council CEO Dan Onofrio said the goal from the business community is to try to bring people in and keep them in the city, and the new amphitheater will be key to that effort.
“Being one block away, I fully expect that we will be a rest stop before and after many of the concerts,” says Jeff Browning, co-owner of Brewport, a local brewpub.
Browning said that although the delay is frustrating, he is confident the wait will be worth it.
