[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6073883,"mediaKeyId","2989510-0c76019246efd288a1f4c8d68268189b","parentId",2989510,"title","Artists, venue operators warn proposed 3,300-seat Live Nation arena could strain parking, displace local venues","audioSeconds",2363,"startMs",285000,"endMs",2648000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2989510-0c76019246efd288a1f4c8d68268189b&start=285&end=2648","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2989510-0c76019246efd288a1f4c8d68268189b/thumbnail_285000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6073883/Portland/Cumberland-County/Maine/Artists-venue-operators-warn-proposed-3300-seat-Live-Nation-arena-could-strain-parking-displace-local-venues","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6073883-0d2f2cbbb552e084c434716c6e6771c7/orig.mp4?Expires=1771193566&Signature=TSnY5DKi-wGfEWv0eu2R9GfzbE8ChvzmuoTY1A3ZFZwfPoOPQQ5~PexyIVwEpsq~WAJ10NrroFv-~teJRPfeXHmNuqVsHM28xX2MFKidbu2sToY8e49~fvs-4VHNyFui3Uz2FBCkSmDD7DG8Tvao9lMs3k4HoE-jsczl~IPp5CJoKQEEtCtSspHBXOncd5sLq1RE4SFPHqU5p2a61553ZsoNMTpwnXPcqtc7E1qCTf4G81JOBEs28HjYXDAeK0VxXvbE8rMPW~u3hpcnlNP08eaX38NmI1FtqcoRTEThkhoW5GooUqs7Mrx5yMhmTM2O-orj8-H8McGxyR~dkO8rSQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of Portland Maine ","date","2025-03-17T00:00:00Z","article","Dozens of Portland performers, venue managers and nonprofit arts leaders urged the City Council to pause or more closely scrutinize a proposed 3,300-seat Live Nation venue planned near Merrill Auditorium, saying it would worsen parking and traffic and could displace long-standing local music and arts organizations.

The concerns unfolded during the public-comment period, when artists and venue operators outlined operational, economic and equity risks and asked councilors to require an impact study or a moratorium on large-capacity venues on the peninsula.

“The parking garage that's right next to me, Temple Street parking Garage, closes at 11:30. So it's not even an option for us to use or my guests to use,” said Amber Card, general manager of Portland House of Music and Events. “I'm a 300 cap venue, and I'm worried about me and my staff of 25 people losing their jobs because this huge monopolistic conglomerate is welcoming themselves into our city, and nobody seems to care.”

Card and other speakers described repeated operational clashes they expect if a 3,300-seat arena opens across the street from existing rooms. Eric Hager of Portland Ovation cited traffic and truck-loading challenges: “The competition for those parking spaces will become absolutely unbearable with a 3,300 seat auditorium,” he said, quoting Live Nation’s own scale of operations to emphasize the company’s market reach.

Allison (director of marketing, Portland Symphony Orchestra) and Carolyn Nishon (executive director, Portland Symphony Orchestra) said audience access is already constrained for sold-out concerts at Merrill Auditorium and that adjacent development would compound congestion. “We have frustrated patrons who tell us of their struggle to find parking, some of whom who have even bought tickets and turn around and go home,” Allison said. “Imagine how all of that compounds if you add a sold-out show in a 3,300 seat venue across the street.”

Several speakers framed the concern as a competition and market-consolidation issue rather than a pure zoning question. Martin (identifying himself as managing director of Portland Stage but speaking on his own behalf) said national operators have business practices that can force smaller local venues out of business, citing exclusivity and touring-contract practices raised elsewhere in national antitrust litigation.

Multiple speakers asked the council to require a formal study of parking, traffic and economic impacts (including the effect on smaller venues and downtown businesses) before approvals proceed. Some asked for a moratorium on new large-capacity venues on the peninsula until that analysis is complete.

City staff said the proposal will come before the Planning Board and that a transportation-management plan and a full traffic study will be required as part of the major site-plan review. “It’ll be a major site plan application. It’ll be all planning board reviews,” the city manager said during the meeting.

Not all details about the private proposal were presented to council. Speakers repeatedly referenced national reporting and investigations into Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster as context; the council and staff limited their remarks to the local land-use and review process.

The council did not take any formal votes on the venue proposal during this meeting. Staff reiterated that the Planning Board will consider the site plan on March 25 and that any required transportation-management plan and traffic analyses will be evaluated at that time.

Community members urged residents to contact councilors and to participate in the Planning Board process. Several emphasized the cumulative, downtown-wide effects of additional large events on parking, transit and small businesses and asked the city to ensure any review includes local-venue impact, truck and load-in logistics, and whether proposed mitigation (for example, ride-hail services) is realistic for patrons and workers.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Portland ME City Council Meeting 03/17/25","oneSentenceSummary","Dozens of Portland performers, venue managers and nonprofit arts leaders urged the City Council to pause or more closely scrutinize a proposed 3,300-seat Live Nation venue planned near Merrill Auditorium, saying it would worsen parking and traffic and could displace long-standing local music and arts organizations.","taxTitle","Portland, Cumberland County, Maine","taxId",2582,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6073878,"Council approves social-housing task force, adds lived-experience seats and seeks facilitator funding",2160,3529000,5689000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2989510-0c76019246efd288a1f4c8d68268189b&start=3529&end=5689","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2989510-0c76019246efd288a1f4c8d68268189b/thumbnail_3529000.jpg","/articles/6073878/Portland/Cumberland-County/Maine/Council-approves-social-housing-task-force-adds-lived-experience-seats-and-seeks-facilitator-funding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6073878-fff1f805a58e158e7d7129d26812e571/orig.mp4?Expires=1771193566&Signature=VX~9cj9iMVuklk~DKUsmbB9eqp7oQFv0jFZqLsKHh6Vby0mNV4VDEN-hFplBZ--IiWnb04TWn7Qzx7VmkG9KIUlsIFWElPIsSr6samJsmEGkzL1VR0Q~fRrEttNupXQ8wia4jnLF7tY572nlIvjIYrzL4xjOChmRv8zVDNF~ALSZlRfa1CUIJTLXu2wJSqJD306cyFDYe8Hw28Av8ZoI9fMXYUtpxBmp9iqu3cqiuRaql0UUGLR6Drx260wvRUsKhmVBm0LTzwnw~uZlspPfbDTHWJ1R7bq5rykV6QlHv8g6odljqKiIkgNLLlNB10Mu0pB2GLgRi-ObFk5xutW7AQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City Council voted to establish a social-housing task force to study options for city-led affordable housing, including financing tools and program design, and to return recommendations to the council.

The resolution—sponsored by the Housing and Economic Development Committee and introduced as Resolve 7 24 25—directed staff to create a task force of up to 13 members. Councilors amended the resolution to require at least two members of the task force be “from underserved populations with lived experience navigating the challenging housing environment in Portland.”

Supporters of the task force said the city needs new tools to create permanently affordable housing that the private market and existing nonprofit developers are not producing at scale. “Social housing is being used successfully by a variety of local governments to fill gaps in housing development that the market and affordable developers cannot,” said Wendy Cherubini, a Portland resident who supported the resolution.

Public commenters described a range of models — community land trusts, limited-equity cooperatives, modular construction — and urged the task force to examine funding sources, zoning barriers, and construction innovations. Scott Vonnegut of the Greater Portland Community Land Trust urged the group to study shared-equity ownership models and modular construction to lower costs.

City staff said the administration has set aside funds and is seeking an up-to-$60,000 HOP (Housing Opportunity Program) grant to hire a facilitator, and plans to bring technical experts (bond counsel, finance specialists and other consultants) into the task force process. Director Greg Watson of Housing and Economic Development told the council that staff intend the facilitator to keep the task force on schedule and to organize expert testimony.

The resolution sets an initial timeline of roughly 12 months for the task force to report recommendations to the council; staff noted extensions or additional consultant work may be needed and that grant funding would help offset city costs. The measure passed after an amendment and a short delay motion; the council voted in favor by hand vote at the meeting.

Councilor Phillips moved the main motion; councilors amended language to broaden eligibility and to add the two lived-experience seats. The mayor will appoint members following the council’s action. Staff said the task force will include a mix of council and Portland Housing Authority representation, developers, housing finance and legal experts, and community members.","The City Council approved a resolution to create a task force to study social housing, adding an amendment requiring at least two members with lived experience navigating Portland’s housing market and indicating staff will seek grant funding for a paid facilitator and technical consultants.","actionData","errors"]

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Artists, venue operators warn proposed 3,300-seat Live Nation arena could strain parking, displace local venues

Council approves social-housing task force, adds lived-experience seats and seeks facilitator funding