Onondaga County Legislature Chairman Ryan McMahon says he is optimistic there will be an announcement soon regarding an opening act for the county’s new amphitheater on Onondaga Lake.
“We’ve had a much shorter time period to put one together than what most other venues have. They usually have a year and a half to get things booked. We’ve only had 60 days. But it’s going to happen.”
McMahon also points out that the New York State Fair has had difficulty finding acts for the Grandstand at the fair this year.
County officials have said from the start that they would like to book a concert that would attract a wide cross section of visitors to christen the new venue. They’ve also said they would like it to coincide with the state fair, which opens in just over two months.
Work has been progressing on the concert venue since March, built on the former Allied Chemical waste beds. Experts hired by the county say the 17,500-seat outdoor concert venue on the western shore of Onondaga Lake could have an economic impact of up to $22 million a year by 2019.
