VenuesNow 2026 All-Star Honoree: JW Roth

JW Roth
Founder, Chairman & CEO
VENU HOLDING CORPORATION

WORDS TO LIVE BY
“Never quit on a bad day. Nobody ever quits on a good day. If that’s how you live, you’ll never fail.

VENU Holding Corporation has had a breakout expansion year in 2026 with 12,500-capacity Regent Bank Amphitheater outside Tulsa opening this fall and 20,000-capacity Sunset Amphitheater in McKinney, Texas, set to open in 2027 with the company’s trademark firepit suites. Company Founder, Chairman and CEO JW Roth demonstrates how a public-private development, partnerships and hospitality can attract capital and build a growing portfolio.

What were the big wins?
JW Roth: We kept pushing on our multi seasonal, multi configurational, omni content strategy, and it’s paying off in ways that are hard to even measure yet. We locked in lucrative partnerships with content promoters, brought on new operating partners, and started weaving new technology into how we design venues for the future of live entertainment.

What were the challenges?
Building something no one has built before means you’re revising as you go. There’s no playbook to check your work against. Managing construction timelines, municipalities and inflation on hard costs, all while trying to hold the line on a vision that keeps expanding. I have the best team in the world for being able to chase this vision with me.

Financing has been its own challenge. When you’re introducing a new asset class, you’re not just pitching a project. You’re teaching the market a new concept from scratch. We overcame it the same way we approach everything: stay out of the box, keep explaining the model until people see what we see, and let the results start doing the talking.

How have you done to improve hospitality?
This is what VENU is built on, leaning into the fan and artist experience at every level. We took the average model and blew that out of the water. Aikman Clubs, our premium club experience built in partnership with Troy Aikman, sit in the heart of the venue instead of stuck up in the rafters like typical suites. Luxe FireSuites bring live fire right into the suite, the same backyard nostalgia of a night with family, now built into your favorite performances. s