Summerfest To Replace Marcus Amphitheater

Milwaukee World Festival CEO Don Smiley told Milwaukee Business News some construction projects are in the pipeline, but no timelines are in place yet. He drew specific attention to the 23,000-capacity amphitheatre.

“It has a certain useful life, just like an arena or a ballpark,” Smiley said. “So yes, we’ve talked about it. We’ve talked about alternatives. We’ve talked about how it would be funded. That’s definitely in the future of this festival, to have a new amphitheater.”

The Marcus Amphitheater was built in 1987 for $12 million. Milwaukee World Festival Inc., which organizes the yearly shindig, has already completed $65 million in renovations and improvements to the festival grounds since 2004, including the construction of a new box office and more stages.