As the city of Irvine heads into its second year hosting concerts and events at its temporary Great Park Live amphitheater, councilmembers have decided it makes more sense to purchase some of the needed equipment.
The city will invest $1.5 million to purchase of equipment currently being rented for the 5,000-seat amphitheater and it’s going to seek to rent directly another $3.4 million of equipment, cutting out a contractor that charges the city a 10% fee.
Purchasing the equipment already at the venue will save Irvine around $2 million compared to renting through 2027, City Manager Oliver Chi said.
“On top of that, we’ll shave $1.5 million a year on operating costs,” Chi added.
When leaders voted to open the amphitheater, the city expected to invest between $2 million and $3 million annually to operate Great Park Live through 2026.
In its first year of operation in 2024, the outdoor amphitheater hosted dozens of events, but cost the city even more money than expected.
Nevertheless, city leaders — intent on maintaining a live music venue in Irvine after the abrupt closure of the FivePoint Amphitheater — voted to keep Great Park Live open another year, through 2027. An already approved permanent amphitheater is expected to open in 2028.
The additional year of operation changed the calculus for equipment rentals and purchases, and the new capital procurement plan aims to get operational costs back on track, officials said.
“This gets everything back in line with the costs we were anticipating,” Chi said.
“We learned from the first season,” said Mayor Larry Agran. “Now, let’s implement some cost savings, learn more from the second season and go on.”
The Great Park Live 2025 schedule is yet to be announced.
The venue is the summer home to the Pacific Symphony, and, in its first season, hosted an array of concerts from tribute rock bands to popular artists including Brooks Nielslon and Ludacris.
