Alpharetta Shed Goes Verizon

Verizon Wireless has acquired the naming rights to the new venue set to be completed in 2008 at Alpharetta, Ga.’s Encore Park, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra announced. The 12,000-capacity venue will be called Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Designed by KKE Architects and landscaping firm Sasaki Associates, the shed is set for a June groundbreaking with a May 2008 opening, according to a statement from ASO.

Featuring 7,000 seats and a lawn that can hold 5,000 concertgoers, the shed "will host an array of today’s leading popular artists and a wide range of orchestral, community, festival and family events, broadening the ASO’s presenting opportunities in north Fulton County," the statement said.

The ASO plans to continue playing at its current home in Chastain Park as well as the new venue when it opens.

The orchestra is the only one in the nation to manage two venues of this size. However, Live Nation co-manages Chastain and recruits its most successful shows. With the new venue, the ASO will go it alone.