What would it take to fill the seats under the timber arches at the west end of West Sedona again? The Georgia Frontiere Performing Arts Pavilion has been dark for 23 years, and seven organizations have now sent the City of Sedona their answers. In 2003 the venue closed because it ran out of money. Its structure was not the cause. Every step the city has taken since then is built to make whoever comes next prove they can solve the money problem first.
The Venue Closed Because of Its Finances, Not Its Structure
The Sedona Cultural Park opened on May 26, 2000. The Phoenix Symphony played Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man" in the pavilion named for Georgia Frontiere, and the evening was also a tribute to her. In the three seasons that followed, the 5,500-seat venue hosted Tony Bennett, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Vince Gill, LeAnn Rimes and the Manhattan Transfer. The Phoenix and Flagstaff symphonies played there too, along with Jazz on the Rocks.
Those names did not keep it open. A 2019 history in the Sedona Red Rock News blamed weak financial and administrative planning. Artists were booked without exclusive deals, the outdoor season was short, there was not enough money to book shows often, and debt kept growing. By summer 2003 the operator owed $3.8 million, with a large balloon payment due in summer 2004 that it could not make. The park closed in September 2003, canceled its October shows and later filed for bankruptcy.
On Feb. 19, 2025, Core Structure Group of Flagstaff did a visual-only inspection for the city and found the pavilion "not in danger of imminent collapse." The Red Rock News reported the list of repairs. The glulam arches need structural work where weather has worn away the top two layers of lamination on some beams, but not full replacement. The stage's plywood subfloor needs "complete removal and replacement." Parts of the spray-foam roof waterproofing have broken down and left patches of rot in the decking. The steel, foundations and bolted connections were in good condition. The engineers recommended annual inspections if repairs did not start within the next year.
The rough cost is also on record. Dan Jensvold, one of the pavilion's architects, estimated $3 million to $5 million to get it ready for a major festival. Reporting on Sedona Cultural Park 2.0's website cited a minimum initial investment of about $3 million. Both are early figures, and the review now underway could replace them.
Voters Protected the Venue but Did Not Fund It
The city owns the site because on Nov. 22, 2022, the Sedona City Council approved buying the 41 acres for $20 million. The deal included $10.2 million in excise-tax bonds, and interest pushes the total cost higher.
In the July 21, 2026 primary, Proposition 403 passed with 2,182 yes votes, or 60.92 percent, against 1,400 no votes. According to the ballot text published by the City of Sedona, the measure makes the Sedona Cultural Park a city parks and recreation facility. It requires the city to keep the site open for hiking, picnicking and biking, and for cultural uses including film festivals, theaters, musical performances and food and drink concessions. It bans residential development and overnight camping or sleeping on the site.
The same text says nothing in the section requires any cultural venue to be "operated, built or improved," and it does not require the city to do that work. It allows the city to run such activities itself or to "enter into agreements with others to do so." So voters ruled out housing on the land and left room for a concert venue. They did not commit any public money to bringing one back.
The City's Request Puts the Financial Risk on a Private Partner
The city's request for information went out after council action in late May and closed Sept. 30. Its terms answer the question that ended the first run of the park. The city's announcement describes a possible private ground lease of up to about 25 acres at fair market value, with the private party paying for renovation and operations. It asks respondents for ideas on programming, business models, community benefits and sound attenuation.
That means any operator pays rent to the city and pays to fix the stage, the roof and the arches. Then it has to make money in the same short outdoor season the first operator had. Because sound attenuation is on the list, neighbors' interests are part of the request from the beginning.
Seven Responses, Two of Them Local
Seven organizations responded, according to the Sedona Red Rock News on Oct. 8. Their backgrounds show the range of people who think there is a workable business here.
| Respondent | Based in | Background, as reported |
|---|---|---|
| Amphitheater Action Group | Sedona | Ad hoc local coalition of entertainment and hospitality veterans |
| Sedona Cultural Park 2.0 | Sedona | 501(c)(3) nonprofit led by former Vice Mayor John Bradshaw |
| Sky City Productions | Prescott | Staging, lighting and sound company; produces the Prescott Valley Summer Music Festival |
| Keen Independent Research | Phoenix | Market research and economic consulting; cultural plans for Parker and Littleton, Colorado |
| Starke Contractors | Las Vegas | Women-owned commercial general contractor working in Nevada, Utah, Arizona and California |
| Venue Partners | Denver | Matches venues with corporate sponsors; founder Lee Carrothers points to the Coors Field naming |
| Webb Management Services | New York | Arts-facility advisory firm founded by Duncan M. Webb in 1997, with more than 500 clients and assignments |
The list shows how many skills a reopening would need. One respondent builds, one sells naming rights, one runs sound and stages, and two plan for cultural venues. The two local groups have been at work on the pavilion the longest.
Sedona Cultural Park 2.0 worked on the amphitheater before the city's request existed. On April 28, 2026, council voted 6-0 to pursue a non-binding letter of intent with the group to develop a business plan for reopening what the Red Rock News described as the 5,550-seat pavilion. The vote committed no city funds and approved no project. The framework let the group study finances and operations for up to 25 acres through the end of 2026. The group said it would rely on private philanthropy, sponsorships, partnerships and professional operators, not city subsidies.
The Amphitheater Action Group includes Scott Ross and Nick Lippman of Lippman Entertainment, music-industry veteran Paul Fishkin, UTA agent Talia Myers, musician and studio co-owner Tim Jessup, restaurateur Lisa Dahl and hotelier Allan Affeldt, a former Winslow mayor. In June the group was still drafting its business plan.
The Local Plans Are Built Around Revenue
The Action Group's early thinking, as the Red Rock News reported in June, deals directly with what went wrong in 2003. The group described a mix of touring and local acts, with a goal of written priority for local performers in opening slots. Ross said local acts alone would not support an investment of this size. He also said the group wanted to put together an experienced operating team and would not run the venue itself. Jessup suggested remote parking at the Dells to reduce traffic on show nights.
Each of those points answers one cause of the 2003 closure. Touring headliners bring in ticket revenue. A professional operator replaces the planning that the 2019 history found lacking. A parking plan aims to keep a 5,500-person crowd from overwhelming State Route 89A at the city's western entrance.
Community Development Director Tony Allender described the city's goal in the same terms. "What we're looking for truly is the possibility of a pathway forward to restore and operate the amphitheater by a third party, while still meeting the city's objectives for the cultural park," he told the Sedona Red Rock News. He added that the city would not declare one proposal better than the others.
The Road to Dec. 8 and What Follows
The responses are not public yet, and the process is slow by design. Based on the city's statements to the Red Rock News, the sequence is:
- An eight-person working group of seven city staff members and one business-community representative reviews all seven responses. Allender said the first meeting was expected the week of Oct. 8, and that two members have live-music industry experience. Their names have not been released.
- The responses become public once the working group finishes its review.
- Sedona City Council is tentatively scheduled to hear the findings on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
- Council then decides whether to start a formal process, such as a request for proposals.
City spokeswoman Julie Graham described the current step as "only for gathering information not for selecting an operator or awarding a contract." She added that "until council has made a decision, the city will not take any action to move planning forward." Sedona Cultural Park 2.0's letter-of-intent period runs to the end of 2026, so the Dec. 8 discussion comes just before it expires.
While the review goes on, the pavilion is as the engineers found it in early 2025. Its structure is sound, the stage floor still needs replacing, and the architect's restoration estimate is $3 million to $5 million. Any operator would have to cover that cost and the ground lease rent from a season of shows.
Katrin Themlitz keeps up with the Cultural Park as closely as any part of West Sedona. If you'd like to talk about what the Dec. 8 discussion could mean for the streets near the old amphitheater, let's connect.
