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January 11, 2009 Renovation at the Pavilion
Following Hurricane Ike the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion vowed to come back bigger and better after the devastating weather cut short the 2008 season. On Friday, November 21st, the premier entertainment venue for The Woodlands announced plans for a $9 million renovation at the facility that will increase the Cynthia Woods Seating capacity by 2,000 additional seats in the reserved section. The additional covered seating capacity will increase to more than 6000 thereby decreasing the lawn area. The ‘just in time’ upgrade for the 20th season is expected to start in December and be completed just before the start of the start of the new season. In addition to the ability of the amphitheater to attract large concert venues capable of being seen by more than 16,000 spectators (2001), the improved pavilion will become a unique venue. CWMP will be the only venue in the Houston region able to market itself as a place for intimate concerts with rising stars, not unlike the Nokia Live series held in Dallas, according to Jerry MacDonald, president and CEO of the pavilion. The additional seating is not expected to increase overall occupancy as it will actually reduce the size of the lawn seating area.
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Construction at the Pavilion January 25, 2009
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According to MacDonald, “… the damage from Ike was devastating; it presented us with the perfect opportunity to consider expanding our covered seating capacity to make our venue even more appealing to both artists and concertgoers.” “It’s a project we were planning to do in the next few years anyway. Hurricane Ike gave us a reason to do it sooner rather than later.”
The pavilion is expected to reopen in May 2009, ‘just in time’ for its 20th season. MacDonald said it anticipates having a full season, offering 32 or more contemporary acts from Live Nation. While the pavilion is negotiating for shows, none are yet ready to be announced, season seats and box seats are now available for The Pavilion’s 20th season. For more information, please contact JD Villasenor, director of premium seat sales, at 281-210-1121 or
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“We are excited about unveiling a completely new Pavilion in conjunction with our 20th season,” said Candice Glenn, chairman of the pavilion’s board of directors, adding that it will also benefit nonprofit shows, like the annual Children’s Festival. “Besides continuing to be a world-class, state-of-the-art facility, the expanded covered seating area will greatly benefit all of our educational outreach programs, including Musical Scores, Fine Arts Education Day and Children’s Festival. We will be able to accommodate thousands more children at each of these events which is an important part of The Pavilion’s mission as a nonprofit organization.”
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The pavilion suffered significant damage during Hurricane Ike, leading to the cancellation of its last 10 shows of the 2008 season. In addition to destroying the Teflon coated, fiberglass fabric roof and support structure, Ike also caused damage to the stage wall, roof panels, event tent, lawn concession stand as well as erosion along the backside of the hill. The new seating will be constructed about 50 feet into the lawn area, cutting the capacity on the grass from about 11,500 to 10,000 people. The renovation plans also include improvement to the sound system on the lawn. While the overall capacity of the pavilion will not increase, all 6,500 reserved seats will be covered under a new canopy, with will retain its sail-like structure. Guests at the amphitheater won’t have any weather issues in the rain and will have some shade from the white canopy.
CGI Vision of the upgraded tent
Reserved seating is always in demand, and generally costs about $20 to $30 more than lawn seating. The additional reserved seating area should enable the pavilion to recoup costs quicker in addition to remaining a top five position in nationwide ticket sales among outdoor amphitheaters. The reserved seating always sells out first with ninety-five percent of the covered seating being sold out and 80 percent of the uncovered seating also being sold at most events.
The multi million dollar renovation package will be funded in part by the $2.5 million insurance proceeds from Hurricane Ike, as well as contributions from the pavilion, concert promoter Live Nation, and the ticketing agent (currently ticketmaster). In addition, George and Cynthia Mitchell, founders of The Woodlands, have donated $1 million toward the renovation, and the pavilion plans a capital campaign in the community to raise the remaining $1 million. “This is a prime opportunity for The Pavilion to make changes and improvements to the facility that will put it in the position of being more competitive for concerts in the Houston market,” said Bob Roux, president of Live Nation for Houston, Dallas and New Orleans. The upgraded covered venue is expected to give the pavilion a “competitive edge” in the Houston live music market place, allowing it to sell more large concerts as well as smaller ones, when lawn seating will not be available.
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| Following are the improvements planned at The Woodlands premier entertainment venue. |
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- Reserved seating: Adding 2,000 new reserved seats
- Covered seating: Increasing number of covered seats from 2,800 to 6,500
- More coverage: Installing a new, larger canopy
- Fewer lawn seats: Decreasing lawn seats from 11,500 to 10,000
- Better sound: Improving sound system for the lawn
- More shows: Offering full compliment of about 32 contemporary shows from Live Nation for 2009
- New stage: Providing alternative venue of 6,500 seats for more intimate performances
Renovated CWMP Woodlands
Construction and expansion history of The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
(numbers are approximate):
1990 Construction complete and grand opening in April
- 2,800 covered seats; no uncovered seating; 7,200 lawn capacity
- Total capacity: 10,000
1995 Expansion and addition of more concessions and restrooms
- 2,800 covered seats; addition of 1,900 uncovered seats; increased lawn capacity to 8,800
- Total capacity: 13,500
2001 Expansion and addition of new dressing room compound and storage facility
- 2,800 covered seats; 1,900 uncovered seats; increased lawn capacity to 11,800
- Total capacity: 16,500
2009 Reserved Seating Expansion & Site Wide Upgrades
- 16,040 total capacity
- 6,387 covered seats with the addition of 3,908 new, covered seats
- 9,653 lawn 'seats' (decrease of 2,147)
- 2,400-square-foot stage
- On-site parking garage with 960 spaces (pre-exisiting)
- 3,000 free parking spaces (pre-exisiting)
- Woodforest Bank VIP Club
- 12,000-square-foot performer’s building
- 10 dressing rooms
Source: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion |
Last update : 29-06-2009 20:51
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The Pavilion 
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By: Spiff (Guest) on 18-07-2009 08:23