What will two new amphitheaters mean for Twin Cities concertgoers?

One will host up to 19,000 people out in Shakopee surrounded by Canterbury Park horse track and suburban amenities. The other can accommodate 8,000 with views of the downtown Minneapolis skyline and Mississippi riverfront.

One’s hurried plan to open this summer has been pushed back to the summer of 2026. The other was finally greenlit by the city of Minneapolis last week to begin construction for a targeted 2027 opening, after nearly a decade of planning.

Those are the divergent stories of the Shakopee Amphitheater and Minneapolis’ Community Performing Arts Center (CPAC), respectively. The two new outdoor venues have at least one thing in common, though: They have been a long time coming for Twin Cities music fans.

The Twin Cities has long been eyed by concert industry professionals as the biggest metro area in the country without a comparable amphitheater to these. And suddenly we’re going to have two.

“It’s long overdue,” said Nate Kranz, general manager of First Avenue Productions, which will operate the 8,000-person CPAC amphitheater along the Mississippi north of downtown Minneapolis.

Citing both of the new Twin Cities amphitheaters, Kranz said, “You’re going to see a lot more concerts — and a lot of acts who haven’t played here a lot because we didn’t have any amphitheater.”

Estimates for the Shakopee Amphitheater are for it to host about 30 concerts per year. More than 50 per year are being touted at Minneapolis’ CPAC.

The locally owned company that operates the Palace and Fitzgerald theaters as well as the Fine Line, Turf Club and its legendary namesake venue, First Avenue is a direct competitor — and sharp contrast — to the corporation that will run the Shakopee Amphitheater.

The 19,000-capacity Shakopee venue will be helmed by international concert industry behemoth and Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation. After a year of trumpeting the Shakopee Amphitheater’s opening date as late-summer 2025 — a late-August date with Neil Young was even penciled in — the company’s representatives initially declined to answer questions about a rescheduled opening date.

After the Star Tribune started contacting Shakopee city leaders and other business operators in the area for updates this week, Live Nation offered a statement from its Minnesota market president Josh Lacey.

“It’s an exciting time for live music in Minnesota, with two new amphitheaters contributing in complementary ways to a vibrant and growing entertainment scene,” Lacey said.

“Our new amphitheater is on track to open in summer 2026, and with its large size and fan- and artist-focused design, it will be a unique addition to the market. We’ll host a full summer season with a mix of national headliners, international touring acts, and standout regional talent.”

Shakopee’s Mayor Matt Lehman blamed the amphitheater’s delayed opening on “tons of logistics and material supply lines,” but added that he believes “the age old tried-and-true adage: sell no wine before its time.”

“I toured the site a few months ago, and I am excited,” Lehman said. “I don’t believe there is a bad seat in the venue. It’s laid out nice [with] state-of-art electronics for both the venue and musical acts.”

Both of the new amphitheaters will feature a combination of permanent seats and chair-free general admission areas. The CPAC will offer a large general admission section in front of the stage that can be used as a standing area (mosh pit alert!), or chairs can be laid out for seated options in front of the stage. Shakopee Amphitheater’s big general admission area will be grassy slopes at the back of the venue behind the seats, with some VIP options near the stage, too.

Both venues will also feature permanent bathrooms, concessions and paved parking lots, plus prominent overhangs above larger-than-normal stages. Those overhangs will offer audiences a little shade from the sun or protection in bad weather, and they also will house hi-fi lighting and sound gear.

Twin Cities music fans have seen a modest version of these types of amphitheaters at Treasure Island Casino near Red Wing, which built its outdoor venue in 2018.

“Minnesota music fans who’ve been to any of the other famous amphitheaters around the country know what we’ve been missing here,” said Greg Burke, a concert enthusiast and ticketing analyst who runs the TC Club Crawl newsletter.

“There’s just nothing better than being outside at a great venue watching one of your favorite bands. These amphitheaters should easily fill that void.”

Burke did raise one logistical concern over both amphitheaters, though: He’s afraid traffic will be an issue because they are being built in relatively crowded settings with many stoplights and only one highway nearby (Hwy. 169 for the Shakopee venue, I-94 for the CPAC).

“They need to get the traffic flow figured out right away, because all it takes is one bad experience at a concert and people will stay away,” Burke said.

There seems to be no concern among concert-biz professionals that these venues will have any trouble trafficking the acts that will make audiences want to attend shows there.

First Avenue dipped its toes in the outdoor concert business over the past decade booking concerts at Surly Brewing Festival Field, including a sold-out gig this weekend with Sierra Ferrell and previous appearances by Tame Impala, Pixies, Lake Street Dive and Patti Smith.

Those Surly shows likely will still continue alongside the CPAC concerts (“It’s a different vibe, and a fun setting,” Kranz said). But some of those Surly performers and many others from First Avenue’s loaded concert calendars will fill the schedule at the new amphitheater, as will rock and pop acts now outside First Avenue’s realm and other concerts booked by the Minnesota Orchestra and community events.

Representatives from both First Ave and Live Nation seem to agree that the difference in size between the two amphitheaters will mean they are not in direct competition with each other, with Lacey saying they could be “complementary.”

“I think we’ll be working on very different shows,” Kranz said. “There will be plenty to go around.”

We can only guess which artists will perform at these amphitheaters for now. Based on the bookings of comparable venues around the country, here are the types of acts that fans might expect to see at their new amphitheaters.