The Murfreesboro City Council voted Wednesday, Aug 10, to approve a finalized Development Agreement with Notes Live, Inc. for a new live entertainment campus at the southeast corner of Medical Center Parkway and Gateway Boulevard. The city and Notes Live finalized the proposed agreement this month. Construction of Bourbon Brothers and Boot Barn Hall is estimated to take 18 months and the amphitheater 20 to 24 months following design approval by the Planning Commission and Council.
“We are excited to finalize the agreement for the high-quality entertainment venture featuring live music in both indoor and outdoor settings,” said Murfreesboro Mayor Shane McFarland. “The public-private partnership will add an attractive amenity to our City and elevate Murfreesboro in the Nashville music scene. On behalf of the City Council, I thank Notes Live for making this substantial investment. We can’t wait to see construction and live performances get underway along with necessary infrastructure enhancements to Medical Center Parkway.”
Mayor McFarland and J.W. Roth, chairman of Notes Live, Inc., unveiled plans May 19 to open a 4,500-seat state-of-the-art, open-air amphitheater in the Murfreesboro Gateway called The Sunset Music Colosseum on the Stones River on 18.2 acres of land that Notes Live will purchase from the city.
The agreement also provides for the development of other venues on the Gateway site:
– Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern, an upscale, casual dining restaurant
– Boot Barn Hall, a 400-seat table setting, acoustically designed music and corporate venue that can be converted into 1,400-stadium seating
Together, the venues are expected to hire 150 full and part-time employees featuring weekly concerts and see approximately 800,000 patrons per year.
The development agreement calls for a number of offsite infrastructure improvements including the extension of Gateway Boulevard to Robert Rose Drive with connection to signalization of Warren Street at Medical Center Parkway (near Fire Station 4). The $7.1 million Gateway Extension Project received unanimous approval from City Council on July 21 as part of a reallocation of CIP funding from FY 21–22 bond proceeds.
These improvements will include additional signalization, median reconstruction, sidewalk, streetlights, drainage, irrigation, and needed utilities such as:
– Gateway Boulevard northbound dual left turns onto westbound Medical Center Parkway.
– Medical Center Parkway eastbound right turn lane onto southbound Gateway Boulevard
– Medical Center Parkway eastbound right turn lane and westbound left turn lane at the median opening at The Fountains (Fountains Crossover)
– Connect Access Street A on eastside of the BBST property to align with the eastern drive into The Fountains to Warren Street
– Signalize Access Street A and The Fountains East Drive at Medical Center Parkway
While amphitheater venue traffic can be managed appropriately, similar to other medium to large-scale sports and entertainment events, the city and council have also identified the need to expand Medical Center Parkway to improve traffic flow with a three-phase road-widening project beginning in early 2023. This approximately $26 million infrastructure improvement is independent of the Notes Live Project and could be completed by 2026–27. Council voted July 21 to reallocate CIP funding from FY 19 and FY 21–22 bond proceeds to add an additional through lane in both directions.
Phase 1 would widen Medical Center Parkway from I-24 to Thompson Lane (2023–24)
Phase 2 would widen Medical Center Parkway from Thompson Lane to The Fountains (2024–25)
Phase 3 would widen Medical Center Parkway from The Fountains to Broad Street (2025–26)
Council voted to reallocate CIP funds to the Medical Center Parkway expansion so the critical project could be initiated sooner.
The multi-million-dollar Sunset Colosseum on the Stones River amphitheater will host large touring acts on a live music entertainment campus featuring firepit suites alongside stadium-style seating and casual lawn seating. The full-service restaurant will include a high-quality tasting room, rooftop patio and an integrated large outdoor patio.
Under the revised development agreement:
– Approximately 18.2 acres will be sold for $3.267 million payable over 20 years
– Approximately 15 acres will hold Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern, Boot Barn Hall and Sunset Music Colosseum on the Stones River
– Approximately three acres will be developed with parking for the amphitheater that will be shared with the city for city events and Greenway trail users
“We couldn’t be happier to partner with the city of Murfreesboro. A show at the Sunset on the River will be a live music experience unlike any other,” Roth said. “We expect our livestreaming and content strategy to make ‘Live from Murfreesboro’ a household name in every living room in America. Along with Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse and Tavern and our indoor concert venue, Boot Barn Hall, Murfreesboro is the perfect place for our next Notes Live campus.”
Nationally recognized Younger Associates has completed an analysis of the economic benefits of the Notes Live Project. The annual economic impact of the project is estimated at approximately $50 million ($500 million over 10 years) with an additional $36 million economic impact from construction, supporting approximately 150 jobs and $7 million in wages. Full-time jobs, direct and indirect, are projected to be 138. Total local tax revenue is estimated at approximately $428,000 annually after operations begin with a 10-year benefit to local taxes of $8.5 million. Property taxes are boosted by approximately $6 million.
The Murfreesboro Boot Barn Hall will be modeled after a similar Notes Live venue in Colorado Springs, which opened in February 2019, adding an 8,000-person state-of-the art outdoor amphitheater in 2022. The Sunset in Colorado Springs amphitheater is on the same campus with Bourbon Brothers. Additional venues are underway in mid-sized markets with growing populations, including Gainesville, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
