BRANDON, MS
State-of-the-art music venue opens in Central Mississippi
Neel-Schaffer provided civil site, structural and electrical design, and construction management services for the new Brandon Amphitheater that opened in April 2018 in Brandon, MS, just east of Jackson.
Neel-Schaffer sister firm Maptech (construction staking) also provided services for the $15 million project.
The 8,400-seat state-of-the-art amphitheater includes 3,500 permanent chairback seats, boxed seats, and a large pit area for portable seating and standing crowds in front of the large stage. Other amenities include two large concession stands, a VIP lounge and entertainment area, two restrooms, eight green rooms for entertainers, two kitchens, and a cafeteria for the entertainers and their crews. The facility is built on the site of an old rock quarry, and hundreds of large boulders that were moved during the construction process were kept on site to serve as walls and landscaping amenities.
Designated parking is provided behind the amphitheater for 18-wheel trucks and RVs used by the entertainers to carry equipment and band and crew members.
The facility is modeled after the 7,500-seat Tuscaloosa (AL) amphitheater, which Neel-Schaffer helped design and build in 2010.
At a press conference in 2016 to announce the new amphitheater, Brandon Mayor Butch Lee said the goal is to make it a “jewel for Central Mississippi, the heart of Brandon.”
The day before the new venue opened with a concert featuring country music star Chris Young, Mayor Lee told MS News Now that the amphitheater will be a big draw far beyond the Jackson Metro area.
