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C3, Live Nation strike deal on new Moody Amphitheater in Waterloo Park

Conservancy partners with promoter to bring park’s music space “back to life”

By Cindy Widner
Drawing from an overhead perspective of a large pavilion with a flat roof, surrounded by trees, at dusk. There are a lot of people under the roof and around the pavilion, where a band performs onstage. In the background is the Austin state capitol building and several tall and medium-height buildings.
Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park (rendering)
Courtesy of Waterloo Greenway

Two music-industry powerhouses and Waterloo Conservancy will partner to bring a new venue in Waterloo Park to life, conservancy CEO Peter Mullan announced Tuesday.

Live Nation Entertainment and locally based C3 Presents and will be in charge of operating and programming the Moody Amphitheater in Waterloo Park, an outdoor public and performance space with a 5,000-person capacity. The new amphitheater was designed by New York firm Thomas Phifer as part of the ongoing Waterlooo Greenway project.

The Greenway, a partnership between the conservancy and the city, will ultimately be a linear park that connects a mile and a half of revitalized, existing parks along and around Waller Creek.

City-owned Waterloo Park, which was the first venue for now-defunct Fun Fun Fun music festival, has been closed for redevelopment for several years. It’s expected to reopen, along with the new amphitheater, in fall 2020. The largest park in the greenway, it has 11 acres of green space and 1.5 miles of hike-and-bike trails.

This redeveloped space is intended to become an entertainment hub (which, arguably, it was before), with a portion of revenues going to Waterloo Greenway to support park operations. The music promoters will bring will touring and local artists to the new stage, with a full concert season starting in spring 2021.

The Moody Amphitheater will be built directly into the landscape and was designed to be flexible, able to host large-scale productions as well as serving as publicly accessible park space when not being used for big performances.

Drawing of an urban park with a set of steps/seats covered by a hatched, slightly angled roof supported by poles and open on the sides and underneath. There are medium-height parking garages and an office building opposite and a street in between. There are people on the steps and sidewalk and a bicyclist on the street. Trees and shrubs are in the foreground.
Waterloo Park rendering
Courtesy of Waterloo Greenway
A drawing of an elevated, curved walkway with a tier further down on its supporting wall filled with plants. There are people on the walkway and plants and trees on the other side of them as well. Below is a flat pavilion with people holding classical musical instruments as if warming them up or getting ready to play. There’s a small portion of an audience in the foreground. There’s a thatched or crosswoven, open, flat roof above the walkway and pavilion, supported by poles throughout the area.
Waterloo Park rendering
Courtesy of Waterloo Greenway

Waterloo Greenway will also begin community programming when the park opens, offering “a diverse range of free and low-cost offerings including physical and mental wellness activities, multidisciplinary live performances, film screenings, and more,” according to a conservancy statement.

C3 Presents partner Charles Attal called the amphitheater “the venue Austin has been missing for many years,” saying “it’s the perfect size for some of today’s hottest touring acts, and with the beautiful urban downtown setting, it will be one of the most special places to see live music in the country.”

Aerial photo of a large construction site fronting a creek. There’s a crane and smaller equipment on the ground. There’s a bridge over the creek to a road in front.There are two flat, circular structures being built. There are medium and tall buildings across the background. Homer Gonzalez courtesy of Waterloo Greenway
Construction site with a pavilion being built. Homer Gonzalez courtesy of Waterloo Greenway
Photo of a construction site with a bulldozer hacking away at a limestone wall. Oak branches extend overhead. in the background is a diverted creek with a circular pavilion being built over it. Homer Gonzalez courtesy of Waterloo Greenway

Construction of Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park

In addition to being the original site of Fun Fun Fun Fest, Waterloo Park hosted public art and such events as Spamarama, Pachanga, Mess with Texas, the Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival, and the Ice Cream Festival since 1978.

“Waterloo Park has a special history of bringing the community together, and we’re proud to carry that forward,” said Mullan.

Completion of the amphitheater is part of the first phase of the Waterloo Greenway project. That phase also includes the renovation of Symphony Square. The second phase will take place on the part of the creek that runs alongside the Red River Cultural District, and the third phase will include Palm Park, the Creek Delta, and a pontoon bridge across Lady Bird Lake.

Vertical overhead drawing of a creek with a street grid surrounding it, with different areas marked and labeled Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3.
Map of phased plan for Waterloo Greenway
Courtesy of Thomas Phifer and Partners

Waterloo Greenway

1111 Red River Street, , TX 78701 Visit Website