Coca-Cola Amphitheater poised to open mid-June

With just six weeks until the first show, construction at the new Coca Cola Amphitheater north of downtown Birmingham is still underway. 

Piles of gravel and other construction materials surround the open air amphitheater, hugged by neighborhood streets and the remains of the Carraway Hospital. But the future loading bay is smooth with freshly laid pavement and construction workers are busily finishing up landscaping and adding the finishing touches to the dressing rooms. 

“There’s a lot of activity going on back here,” Tad Snider, head of the BJCC said. 

The BJCC owns multiple performance venues across the city. The amphitheater has been in the works for several years, Snider said, adding that the project is on a “very aggressive” schedule. But so far, crews are hitting construction milestones and are on track to finish the amphitheater by June 22 — the date of the first concert. 

The venue features a premium ticket holder seating area known as the Vinyl Room, which can seat several hundred people and is part open-air stage viewing and part indoor seating with dining and drinking options offered.

On show days, one of the streets bordering the Coca Cola Amphitheater, 25th Street, will close to provide pedestrian safety at the main entrance. A free trolley service will run several blocks from popular hotels and restaurant destinations to the venue. The on-site parking plan is still being finalized, construction staff said. 

Snider was optimistic that the new music spot will improve the existing portfolio of venues and offer an economic boost to the neighborhood.

“The amphitheater was always conceived to be the anchor of this larger redevelopment,” Snider said. “Just knowing that it’s going to draw the energy and interest that made up the former Caraway Hospital campus, that just makes North Birmingham more vibrant and that’s great.”

Snider says once it is fully operational, the amphitheater will generate 300 jobs. He expected that as many as 30 shows might be held there this summer.