It’s officially happening: the Long Beach Amphitheater—think Greek Theatre in scale, Hollywood Bowl in aesthetic—is moving forward after securing its final approval from the Planning Commission. And with it, it will bring Mötley Crüe as its inaugural act. The famed 80s rock band will bring back their “Carnival of Sins” tour of 2005, which had a documentary attached and is largely considered the band’s greatest hits tour.
“Bringing back the spirit of Carnival of Sins has been a blast, and we wanted to take it even further for its 20th anniversary,” Motley Crue said in a statement, noting the tour will begin in Pennsylvania and end in Washington. “This new show is for the Crueheads who’ve been with us through it all and for the new Crueheads who didn’t get to experience Carnival of Sins last time around. Get ready — we’re coming your way and we can’t wait to see you next summer.”
Sitting beside the Queen Mary with the Downtown skyline as its backdrop, the venue promises a distinctly Long Beach sense of place while drawing a broader pool of touring artists. With approvals now locked, construction is slated to finish in 2026, with concerts beginning shortly after—a modest delay from the mayor’s once-ambitious projection of opening this fall.
What is the Long Beach Amphitheater?
“This facility will become a centerpiece for live performances with 10,000 to 12,000 seats,” Mayor Rex Richardson said during his State of the City address earlier this year. “It will offer unforgettable experiences for residents and visitors. And it will support our local small restaurants. Our shops. Our businesses. All these entities will benefit from increased foot traffic before and after major concerts.”
That optimism now has financial backing: the City Council approved a $16.5M package for construction and operations this week. The plan includes $1.5M for ASM Global—acquired by Legends in 2023 and now one of the world’s largest venue operators—who will run the amphitheater for $300,000 annually during the first five years of a renewable contract. ASM already oversees the Convention Center and Arena, and the Long Beach Amphitheater will join more than 400 venues in its national portfolio. Operating profits will return to the City, along with revenue shares from concessions, catering, suites, sponsorships, and potential naming rights.
Early projections estimate $8M in revenue (and nearly $1M in gross profit) during year one, climbing to $12.2M in revenue and $2.9M in gross profit by year five.
A real need for live music—and a real moment for Long Beach
The proposal arrives at a time when Southern California’s outdoor concert landscape is shifting. Irvine famously torpedoed Live Nation’s proposed amphitheater in 2023 after hours of public pushback over noise concerns. San Pedro’s enormous West Harbor project floated its own Hollywood Bowl-style venue, but progress on even its core development has lagged. And closer to home, after Goldenvoice left the Queen Mary grounds post-pandemic—following a run of standout festivals—the region has been searching for its next major outdoor music anchor despite Insomniac taking over electronic events on the site.
Long Beach has learned the hard way that major music venues don’t simply materialize. Look at The Vault: the Pine Avenue space once drew the B-52s, Flogging Molly, Ghostface Killah, and more. Promised as a revived music hub, it was instead sold to a church. That loss has lingered.
