About the Riverbend 2.0 Project

On December 14, 2023, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) and our wholly owned subsidiary Music and Event Management, Inc. (MEMI) became owners of the former Coney Island amusement park property. Though preliminary plans are still in development, our ultimate vision is to build one of the nation’s most inspiring, state-of-the-art amphitheaters to attract major artists, enhance audience experience, and unite our community through extraordinary musical experiences.

The new music venue will replace the existing Riverbend Music Center as the home of summer concerts. After the new venue is operational, Riverbend will be repurposed for large-scale festival events, alongside the new venue and PNC Pavilion, as part of a larger music and entertainment campus. PNC Pavilion will continue to operate as usual.

We encourage you to visit this site for the latest updates regarding the project.

Read the Press Release Read the FAQ

Quick Facts

New Music and Entertainment Venue

The new music and entertainment venue will be a 21,000-seat outdoor amphitheater featuring cutting-edge performance and entertainment technology and best-in-class guest amenities at an architecturally stunning facility. The goals are to build the nation’s best amphitheater designed to attract the biggest acts in the country, and to serve as an economic driver for the region.
The new music and entertainment venue will be built on the former Coney Island property adjacent to the Riverbend Music Center and PNC Pavilion. The final positioning for the new venue on the property has not yet been determined.
Riverbend will be retained and, together with the new venue and PNC Pavilion, will create a unique music and entertainment campus that will be utilized for large-scale festival events. PNC Pavilion will continue to operate as usual.
The venue will combine cutting-edge technology and innovative architecture, elevating the music experience for both concertgoers and artists. When compared with Riverbend Music Center, the new venue will have a larger capacity and incorporate more reserved seating into the design. It will have increased concessions, parking and bathrooms as well as improved flow of traffic in and out of the venue campus.

Economic Impact

Live music contributes $10 billion to the U.S. economy annually. In 2022, the larger music tourism ecosystem generated $43 billion nationally in ticket sales, hotel and lodging accommodations, transportation, dining, and other revenues.
Competing regionally and nationally for entertainer tour dates has never been more challenging nor more crucial. This new state-of-the-art venue will provide music lovers with a much-improved contemporary concert experience and enable Cincinnati to compete regionally and nationally for A-tier artists and in-demand tour dates, in turn driving economic impact for the region.
Combined with PNC Pavilion and the Riverbend Music Center, as well as other nearby entertainment, parks and recreation destinations, the new venue will create additional jobs and generate year-round economic activity and public revenue.

Coney Island Property

Moonlite Gardens has not been operational since 2018, when it was determined to have become unsafe and subsequently denied an occupancy permit by the Cincinnati Fire Department.
The amusement park rides at Coney Island were closed and removed from the property in 2019.
Prior to MEMI acquiring the Coney Island property, Coney Island and Sunlite Pool were closed by Coney Island, Inc. and will not reopen.

About CSO and MEMI

With a legacy dating back 129 years, the CSO is considered one of America’s finest orchestras. The CSO further elevates the city’s vibrant arts scene by serving as the official orchestra for the Cincinnati May Festival, Cincinnati Opera, and Cincinnati Ballet.
Moreover, the CSO brings music education in its many forms to as broad a public as possible. These efforts include two youth orchestras, the Nouveau program, Musicians in Schools, the CSO Brass Institute, and one of America’s longest-running Young People’s Concerts series, which was launched more than 100 years ago.
MEMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the CSO and a leading promoter of live entertainment in Southwest Ohio. MEMI helps to satisfy the Greater Cincinnati community’s sustained love of live music.
100% of MEMI’s net revenues go directly to support the CSO, ensuring its world-class status and enabling it to provide the community with exceptional music and music education programs.
MEMI has welcomed 17 million music fans through the doors of its venues, including Riverbend Music Center, PNC Pavilion, Taft Theatre and Taft Ballroom, Rose Music Center at the Heights, the Andrew J Brady Music Center® and the ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park.

Frequently Asked Questions

Riverbend Replacement Venue

Finances & Economic Impact

About the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

Riverbend Replacement Venue:

: A: We are not adding an additional music venue to the Cincinnati market. The new music venue will replace the existing Riverbend Music Center as the home of summer concerts. After the new venue is operational, Riverbend will be repurposed for large-scale festival events alongside the new venue and PNC Pavilion as part of a larger music and entertainment campus. PNC Pavilion will continue to operate as usual.
: A: The new venue will combine cutting-edge technology and innovative architecture, elevating the music experience for both concertgoers and artists. The venue will have a state-of-the-art sound system that will allow every note to resonate. When compared with Riverbend Music Center, the venue will have a larger audience capacity and incorporate more reserved and adaptable seating arrangements, including dynamic standing areas that cater to diverse concert-going preferences. It will also have increased concessions, bathrooms, parking, and an improved flow of traffic in and out of the venue campus.
: A: Yes. The design will incorporate an improved flow of traffic in and out of the venue campus. We are actively keeping traffic and noise concerns in mind as we select the site for the venue on the property. We will share more details as plans develop.
: A: Yes. We plan to keep Lake Como, the front gates of Coney Island and the Grove and pay tribute to Sunlite Pool. Sunlite Pool will not be a part of new development plans as the space where the pool currently sits is needed to create a cohesive music venue campus.

We are in discussions about possibly preserving and restoring Moonlite Gardens. Though Moonlite Gardens has not been operational since it was denied an occupancy permit by the Cincinnati Fire Department in 2018, the venue, its history, and its use are aligned with our mission to serve the community through music. We are actively looking to restore Moonlite Gardens, later, depending on the ability to pay for its repair and restoration. We look forward to sharing plans in the coming months.
: A: The new venue and entertainment campus is anticipated to open for summer of 2026

Finances & Economic Impact:

: A: The new state-of-the-art venue will cost $118 million to build. This does not include the $5.7 million cost to repair and restore Moonlite Gardens, which has not been operational since it was denied an occupancy permit by the Cincinnati Fire Department in 2018.
: A: This project was one of only four recommended by the Cincinnati Business Council for Strategic Community Investment Funding (SCIF), out of more than 80 requests. This new venue development project will drive increased economic activity for the entire region. The new music and entertainment campus are projected to generate $83 million in economic impact, along with $15 million in city tax revenues and $7 million in state tax revenues over a decade.
: A: Riverbend's transformation is an opportunity for a robust public/private partnership. 70% of needed funding will come from private philanthropy while 17% is projected from public sources. One key public source is Ohio’s One-Time Strategic Community Investment Fund which the state legislature seeks to support meaningful investments in transformative projects that will impact our communities around our state for decades to come.
: A: The projected economic impact of the Riverbend campus is $83 million and additional city tax revenues of $15 million and state tax revenues of $7 million over the first ten years.

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

: A: Yes. Music Hall, which is owned by the City of Cincinnati and operated by the Cincinnati Arts Association, will continue to serve as the home for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops; CSO and Pops concerts will remain at Music Hall. As artists and repertoire require, the CSO and Pops may also perform at the new venue in the future.
: A: Annually, the CSO produces over 180 free and low-cost community engagement activities which have served more than 970,000 people in the broader Cincinnati community. These activities include accessibly priced tickets to CSO and Pops concerts at Music Hall, the CSO’s free summer outdoor Brady Block Parties Series at neighborhoods across the region; community concerts and events in partnership with local artists, residents, and community organizations; Music Labs, and more.
: A: No, the new venue does not impact the 501(c)(3) status of the CSO. MEMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the CSO and a leading promoter of live entertainment in Southwest Ohio, satisfying the Greater Cincinnati community’s sustained love of live music. 100% of MEMI’s net revenues go directly to support the CSO, ensuring the Orchestra’s status and enabling it to provide the community with exceptional music and music education programs.
: A: The CSO and MEMI are raising $118 million to build the new concert venue. This does not include the $5.7 million required to repair and restore Moonlite Gardens. Fundraising to build the new venue and restore Moonlite Gardens is separate from the contributions needed to ensure the CSO’s status, enabling the Orchestra to provide the community with exceptional music and music education programs.