EXCLUSIVE: Live Nation Entertainment is investing $1 billion to build new and revitalized live music venues in an effort to bring more big shows to smaller cities across the nation, Fox News Digital has learned.
The investment comes after President Donald Trump’s March executive order targeting ticket scalpers and strengthening protection for artists and their fans.
Live Nation told Fox News Digital that “every fan deserves access to unforgettable live music — without having to drive hours to a major city.”
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The company will expand with venues in “smaller, underserved” music markets.
Fox News Digital has learned that the new venues will be built in Allentown, Pennsylvania; Birmingham, Alabama; Denver; Indianapolis; Memphis, Tennessee; Milwaukee; Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Portland, Maine; Portland, Oregon; Pittsburgh; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Riverside, Missouri; Seattle; Shakopee, Minnesota; and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Fox News Digital has learned that Live Nation has already broken ground in Richmond, Virginia; Riverside, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Pittsburgh and Allentown, Pennsylvania.
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The investment, according to Oxford Economics, is expected to spur $2.9 billion in total economic impact, including spending on engineering, development and construction.
Once the new venues begin welcoming fans, Live Nation says it is also expected to bring in $1.4 billion in annual economic impact for local communities.
“Our mission is simple: help artists deliver more unforgettable live experiences — and in doing so, create jobs, revive cities, and lift up communities we touch,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino told Fox News Digital.
“As an American company, we drive impact here at home while also helping elevate and export the very best of what this nation represents: freedom, creativity, grit, and boundless possibility,” Rapino added.
Live Nation’s investment comes after Trump, in March, signed an executive order to protect Americans from “exploitative ticket scalping” in the concert and entertainment industry. The president signed the order in the Oval Office and was joined by Kid Rock for the signing ceremony.
That executive order directed the Federal Trade Commission to work with the attorney general to ensure that competition laws are enforced in the industry.
The order also enforced the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act and promoted its enforcement by state and consumer protection authorities.
The order also ensured price transparency at all stages of the ticket-purchasing process, including through the secondary ticketing market.
A White House official, at the time, told Fox News Digital that the president is “committed to making arts and entertainment that enrich Americans’ lives as accessible as possible.”
The official said that America’s live concert and entertainment industry has a total nationwide economic impact of $132.6 billion and supports 913,000 jobs.
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