McKinney | July 2025

Building McKinney’s next stage From the cover

The overview

Sunset Amphitheater site plan The amphitheater will be built on 46 acres and includes space for the venue and parking.

McKinney

McKinney could soon play host to more than 70 music acts a year after development on a 20,000- seat amphitheater is expected to nish in 2026. City and project ocials hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for the Sunset Amphitheater project in June. The $300 million project will support more than 1,300 jobs and is expected to generate more than $3 billion within the rst decade of its opening, ocials said. Plans for the amphitheater project also include several sound mitigation strategies and nearby trac upgrades. Ocials are planning for a mix of physical and electroacoustic sound mitigation that will limit impact to surrounding properties. The 15-month, two-phase construction period is expected to start on the site this summer. Bob Mudd, vice president of construction and market expansion for Venu, the company behind the project, said that construction will start with land work before moving on to parking. The venue’s site plan includes more than 5,000 parking spaces on site, including multi-level garages. After that, construction will work on the seating bowl and the stage at the same time, Mudd said. “The community will start to see things really move in July,” he said in an email.

Key:

1 Amphitheater stage 2 Indoor multi-season conguration 3 Outdoor multi-season conguration 4 Noise mitigation wall 5 Parking structure Area of development

20,000 seats 295 luxury re-pit suites

350 memberships to the Aikman Club

70+ shows a year

MAP NOT TO SCALE N

SOURCES: CITY OF MCKINNEY, VENUCOMMUNITY IMPACT

The specifics

Diving in deeper

Venu is working with the city and the Texas Department of Transportation to improve adjacent roads for the project. Improvements are expected to cost $8 million and are expected to be complete by the time the amphitheater opens. The plan includes adding turn lanes, sidewalks and lighting improvements to roads near the amphitheater. Venu was required to complete a traffic impact analysis for the proposed amphitheater, city Engineering Director Gary Graham said. “The city expects the traffic to increase in the area surrounding the site when the amphitheater holds an event,” Graham said in an email. “The city has worked very hard with the owner/oper- ator to minimize the impacts to the surrounding residents and businesses.” The traffic study was completed and pre- sented to the city in 2024. The study identifies needed improvements to roads surrounding the amphitheater. “These efforts will lead to lasting infrastructure improvements that [will] benefit the community year-round,” Mudd said.

Venu is utilizing barriers including “wind walls” that flank the stage and electroacoustic mitigation efforts to limit noise emissions. dB(A) measures decibels on a scale that is based on sound intensity and how human ears respond. Example dB(A)

Needed infrastructure projects Intersection work, adding turn lanes Road widening,

sidewalk construction

About 32: Soft whisper from five feet away

60: Allowed sound level at the property line during nighttime hours (9 p.m.-6 a.m.) 57-64: Anticipated sound levels in nearby neighborhoods 70: Allowed sound level at the property line during daytime

MARKETPLACE DR.

S. CENTRAL EXPY. N.

EMERSON WAY

MEDICAL CENTER DR.

About 90: A subway train from 20 feet away

Sunset Amphitheater

100

100: Sunset Amphitheater Front of House mix position*

120

About 125: A jet takeoff from 200 feet away

140

GATEWAY BLVD.

399

NOTE: FRONT-OF-HOUSE MIX POSITION REFERS TO A LOCATION WITHIN THE AMPHITHEATER. SOURCE: VENU/COMMUNITY IMPACT

COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM