Live Nation Seeks New Venues In Iowa

– Live Nation Logo 2017

Live Nation is reportedly working with a local developer to open two venues in Des Moines, Iowa.

The city received a proposal to open the venues in the 67,872-square-foot Argonne Armory building in its downtown area, on the east bank of the Des Moines River, according to the Des Moines Register.

The building was originally a training center for the Iowa National Guard and currently houses office buildings.

According to the proposal, Live Nation would convert the building’s gymnasium into a 2,000-capacity venue and turn one of its halls into an 800-capacity room. The building’s basement, which was once a shooting range, would be turned into a multi-purpose space and offices for staff.

The proposal faces competition, however, as other bids were made to turn the building into an apartment complex.  

Jake Christensen, president of Christensen Development, the company Live Nation is working with to open the venue, told the Register that the project would take about a year to complete and would cost “north of $12 million and $15 million,” adding that he would apply for historic tax credits to help finance.

Renovations would include upgrades to the building’s roof, windows, heating and cooling systems and would remove all changes made to the structure during the 1970s and ’80s, including a false ceiling that was added to create a second floor.

Christensen said he’s been courting the promotion giant for two years. Live Nation would bring up to 100 events a year to Des Moines, bringing in around 150,000 guests to the new venues.

“This is an extremely unique, once-in-a-decade opportunity for the city,” Christensen told the paper. “There are other qualified entities, but we’re lucky to get Live Nation.”

Pollstar reached out to Live Nation for this story.