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When it comes to Colorado venues, Red Rocks Amphitheatre is the undisputed headliner.
But the developers of the Ford Amphitheater, opening this month in Colorado Springs, believe their coliseum’s modern luxuries are the future of live music. Will those concert comforts steal Red Rocks’ spotlight? We scoured each spot’s liner notes to find out.
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Venue’s Backstory
Ford Amphitheater: In 2016, Colorado Springs food magnate JW Roth hit play on Venu, a real estate development company that aims to elevate the live music experience (think: comfier seats, high-end eats and drinks). The Springs-based outfit has opened locations in its hometown and in Georgia, but the $90 million Ford Amphitheater will be its biggest venture yet.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre: After making the heavens and the Earth, God carved the world’s only naturally perfect amphitheater in Morrison. (OK, the Civilian Conservation Corps helped a little by leveling the terrain between Ship and Creation rocks in the 1930s to make way for seats and a stage.)
Best Seats at the Venue
Ford Amphitheater:. For $250,000, the Ford will sell you one of its firepit suites, or you can lease one for 99 years for a one-time fee of $200,000. While the latter’s price tag doesn’t include admission, owners can snag up to eight tickets per show for $25 apiece. Sound expensive? Others didn’t think so: Both options are already sold out.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Every seat is the same: two pieces of lumber and sandstone. Unless, that is, you score one of the dozens of planter boxes that flank the venue. They’re not luxurious, but they are elevated enough to give you an unobstructed view of the band.
Best Views at the Venue
Ford Amphitheater: At the Ford, the audience faces the mountains so that Pikes Peak towers over the performers, and the Air Force Academy’s Cadet Chapel looms to the right.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Perched high above Denver, Red Rocks seems to survey the entire Eastern Plains—a vast expanse interrupted only by downtown’s illuminated skyscrapers.
Off-Hour Attractions at the Venue
Ford Amphitheater: You don’t have to wait for a show to score a table at Roth’s Seafood & Chophouse, a full-service establishment modeled on the old-school charm of Keens (Roth’s favorite New York City steakhouse).
Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Except for afternoons on show days, the venue is open to the public, and locals take advantage of the access to gas themselves by sprinting up its 70 rows.
Local August Acts at the Venue
Ford Amphitheater: Colorado Springs’ hometown pop band OneRepublic opens the Ford with a three-night run starting on August 9. From $120
Red Rocks Amphitheatre: Folk-blues outfit Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats plays Red Rocks on August 20 and 21—a regular appearance the Denver band has called “the most important nights of our year.” From $65
Read More: 12 of the Best Outdoor Music Venues Around Denver and Beyond
