A concert held as part of the Chesterfield After Hours series at River City Sportsplex. (Courtesy Chesterfield)
The show will go on at River City Sportsplex.
The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors recently approved an amended agreement between the county and concert promoter EventMakers-USA to allow the company to continue to hold its Chesterfield After Hours concert series at the Sportsplex this year.
The 2024 agreement is largely similar to the contract that regulated EventMakers’ use of the venue last year, though it tweaks the fees paid to the county for use of the site and how long concerts can last into the night.
Moving forward, EventMakers will pay the county $4,000 per event to hold a concert at the Sportsplex. The company paid $7,250 to the county per show under the 2023 agreement.
EventMakers is planning to hold a minimum of eight concerts as part of the Chesterfield After Hours series in 2024, the company’s managing producer Matthew Creeger said in an interview with BizSense.
The company has already announced two August shows, with ABBA cover band The Concert slated for Aug. 10 and Aaron Lewis, a country musician and co-founder of rock band Staind, scheduled to play Aug. 16.
Creeger said there are plans to hold the first Chesterfield show of 2024 in either May or June, but said details like performers and specific dates were still being worked out.
Under the new agreement with the county, EventMakers will also pay Chesterfield $1.50 per ticket for the first 1,500 tickets sold at an event. After that threshold is reached, the promoter pays the county $1 per subsequent ticket sale. Previously, EventMakers paid $1 per ticket sale no matter how many tickets were sold.
The company’s shows at the Sportsplex sell between 2,000 and 2,500 tickets on average, Creeger said.
Another change in the 2024 agreement is a requirement that shows end by 10:30 p.m. on weeknights (Sunday through Thursday) and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Previously, concerts had to wrap up by 11 p.m. on weeknights and by midnight on the weekend.
EventMakers is required to provide restrooms and concessions at its Sportsplex shows, and is also responsible for handling the cleaning of the premises and maintaining the grounds of its dedicated concert space.
Like the previous agreement, EventMakers is responsible for hiring security for the events. The current agreement states the company needs at least 16 private security officers for crowds under 2,000 people, and at least 20 security guards for concerts with more than 2,000 attendees, which were the same requirements under the 2023 agreement.
The agreement again gives EventMakers access to about 221,000 square feet of the 115-acre Sportsplex. It also is allowed to sell and serve alcohol during concerts.
The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors voted to approve the agreement last week. It took effect Jan. 25 and remains in effect until Oct. 15.
This is the fourth year in which Henrico-based EventMakers has put on concerts in Chesterfield, and the third at the Sportsplex specifically.
EventMakers held two concerts at the Chesterfield Fairgrounds in late 2021 as a test run for shows in the county. Creeger said the shows were successful and led to conversations about moving the company’s Chesterfield operations to the Sportsplex at 13030 Genito Road the following year.
Creeger said that while it was a possibility for EventMakers to stay put at the fairgrounds, the company preferred the Sportsplex due to its location. He said that has helped it stay in closer proximity to fans who frequented the company’s former Innsbrook After Hours series that ran for nearly a decade in Henrico.
“(The fairgrounds) wasn’t a bad area, but this is just a prime area,” Creeger said of the Sportsplex.
EventMakers also runs the After Hours concert series held at Meadow Event Park in Doswell near Kings Dominion. It was in the midst of the inaugural 2021 season in Doswell that Chesterfield officials approached EventMakers about creating a concert series in the county, Creeger said.
Creeger is the son of EventMakers founder Larry Creeger, who is still involved in the business as executive producer there.
A concert held as part of the Chesterfield After Hours series at River City Sportsplex. (Courtesy Chesterfield)
The show will go on at River City Sportsplex.
The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors recently approved an amended agreement between the county and concert promoter EventMakers-USA to allow the company to continue to hold its Chesterfield After Hours concert series at the Sportsplex this year.
The 2024 agreement is largely similar to the contract that regulated EventMakers’ use of the venue last year, though it tweaks the fees paid to the county for use of the site and how long concerts can last into the night.
Moving forward, EventMakers will pay the county $4,000 per event to hold a concert at the Sportsplex. The company paid $7,250 to the county per show under the 2023 agreement.
EventMakers is planning to hold a minimum of eight concerts as part of the Chesterfield After Hours series in 2024, the company’s managing producer Matthew Creeger said in an interview with BizSense.
The company has already announced two August shows, with ABBA cover band The Concert slated for Aug. 10 and Aaron Lewis, a country musician and co-founder of rock band Staind, scheduled to play Aug. 16.
Creeger said there are plans to hold the first Chesterfield show of 2024 in either May or June, but said details like performers and specific dates were still being worked out.
Under the new agreement with the county, EventMakers will also pay Chesterfield $1.50 per ticket for the first 1,500 tickets sold at an event. After that threshold is reached, the promoter pays the county $1 per subsequent ticket sale. Previously, EventMakers paid $1 per ticket sale no matter how many tickets were sold.
The company’s shows at the Sportsplex sell between 2,000 and 2,500 tickets on average, Creeger said.
Another change in the 2024 agreement is a requirement that shows end by 10:30 p.m. on weeknights (Sunday through Thursday) and 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Previously, concerts had to wrap up by 11 p.m. on weeknights and by midnight on the weekend.
EventMakers is required to provide restrooms and concessions at its Sportsplex shows, and is also responsible for handling the cleaning of the premises and maintaining the grounds of its dedicated concert space.
Like the previous agreement, EventMakers is responsible for hiring security for the events. The current agreement states the company needs at least 16 private security officers for crowds under 2,000 people, and at least 20 security guards for concerts with more than 2,000 attendees, which were the same requirements under the 2023 agreement.
The agreement again gives EventMakers access to about 221,000 square feet of the 115-acre Sportsplex. It also is allowed to sell and serve alcohol during concerts.
The Chesterfield Board of Supervisors voted to approve the agreement last week. It took effect Jan. 25 and remains in effect until Oct. 15.
This is the fourth year in which Henrico-based EventMakers has put on concerts in Chesterfield, and the third at the Sportsplex specifically.
EventMakers held two concerts at the Chesterfield Fairgrounds in late 2021 as a test run for shows in the county. Creeger said the shows were successful and led to conversations about moving the company’s Chesterfield operations to the Sportsplex at 13030 Genito Road the following year.
Creeger said that while it was a possibility for EventMakers to stay put at the fairgrounds, the company preferred the Sportsplex due to its location. He said that has helped it stay in closer proximity to fans who frequented the company’s former Innsbrook After Hours series that ran for nearly a decade in Henrico.
“(The fairgrounds) wasn’t a bad area, but this is just a prime area,” Creeger said of the Sportsplex.
EventMakers also runs the After Hours concert series held at Meadow Event Park in Doswell near Kings Dominion. It was in the midst of the inaugural 2021 season in Doswell that Chesterfield officials approached EventMakers about creating a concert series in the county, Creeger said.
Creeger is the son of EventMakers founder Larry Creeger, who is still involved in the business as executive producer there.
Yeah, this venue is nowhere near as nice as the one being built on prime real estate in Richmond. I guess Chesterfield is just a second-class locale. Where are their priorities? sarcasm.
But you’re right. This is a stage in a field that averages 2250 per show and the draw and overall quality of acts that play there reflect that. Richmond is building an actual amphitheater that holds 7,500 that will for the most part cater to a different demographic and level of touring act
When Stoney makes governor that’ll surely change.