The latest mid-sized music venue to pop up along the Front Range is paving the way for at least two more, according to the owner of the new concert hall in Centennial.
Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern and The Hall at Bourbon Brothers are taking over the 50,000 square-foot Celebrity Lanes space in Centennial, at the northwest corner of Parker and Arapahoe roads. The $75 million project will convert the former bowling alley and entertainment center into a 2,000-capacity music venue and restaurant/bar that will serve the growing demand for live music and upscale nights out, said owner JW Roth.
“It’ll be similar to what we have here,” Roth said, referring to the 8,000-capacity luxury venue Ford Amphitheater, which he opened in northern Colorado Springs in fall 2024. “We’ll have rideshare lanes right up front, 50 luxury firepit suites for six people, and everything from theater to movies to concerts to fully catered rentals.”
More than $15 million in firepit ownership packages have been sold so far, he said, at $295,000 per suite.
The project is expected to be completed by mid-2027, Roth said, as VENU is currently working through approvals with the city of Centennial. He praised the city for working productively with the company on the new music hall’s potential effect on traffic and parking issues, as well as its potential for sales tax revenue.
For its part, Centennial said the project has not seen any movement since November 2025. The city is awaiting payment for the current permit, which will expire 6 months from the application date if not paid, said Alison Wintern, communications director for Centennial. “We look forward to working with them,” she wrote in an email to The Denver Post.
The overall model is working so well for VENU that the company is already scouting locations for two new venues in Boulder and Fort Collins. They could be similar to Roth’s other purpose-built, mid-sized music halls .
He’s currently going back and forth between two sites in Boulder, but declined to name their locations. He expects to be able to announce the locations for both cities in 24 to 36 months, he said.
“With us, it always starts with (tour) routing,” Roth said. “No. 1, can we route an act off of something else that we own, and is it far enough away that itap not encroaching on our MSA (a market service agreement, or non-compete clause) with AEG Presents? No. 2, we need a demographic that is supportive of the ticket price, and I feel like the demographic in Centennial is very similar to Ford’s. And do we have a demographic that’s going to buy a $300,000 firepit?”
Standard tickets at Ford Amphitheatre can cost between $45 and $75, with upgrades that range up to $500 a pop. The venue, operated and booked by promoter AEG Presents, is expected to host between 35 and 37 concerts this year, Roth said, including previously announced shows from AJR, Dierks Bentley, Lindsey Stirling, Yo-Yo Ma with the Colorado Symphony, John Mulaney and The Black Crowes.
VENU’s rapid expansion contrasts with ongoing criticism and legal action by some neighbors of Ford Amphitheater in the Springs. Since it opened in 2024, a group of nearby residents has claimed that excessive noise from concerts has harmed their health and property values. After two dismissals, 8 residents filed a third lawsuit against VENU in January.
This month, the group has tied a publicity drive to a bill in the Colorado Senate that would strengthen local oversight of noise ordinances. It’s , according to the state’s legislative schedule.
The group of neighbors is in opposition to that bill, however, alleging that VENU is using its own variance from the city of Colorado Springs to exceed safe and reasonable decibel limits.
“VENU has never, not one time, been out of compliance with the city, so when they say we violated all these things, itap just factually incorrect and really frustrating,” Roth told The Denver Post in January. “Every judge has ruled in our favor and dismissed previous complaints. … This is eight people who have been saying this for the last three years. Compare that with the 200,000 people who came to shows last year and loved it.”
The planned opening of The Hall at Bourbon Brothers stands out even along the Front Range’s crowded music circuit. No other major venue is scheduled to open in the metro area this year, said promoters Live Nation and AEG Presents, and even smaller promoters are sticking with what works.
VENU’s model relies on the continual growth of Front Range concert demand, which has expanded each year since 2021 as artists transform what would normally be a Red Rocks or Ball Arena-focused visit into multi-show stops at large venues in Loveland, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Dillon.
Thatap because concerts at Red Rocks and other venues sell out so quickly that promoter AEG Presents, which books the majority of large Denver concerts, can sell additional venues and multiply the value for artists of visiting our relatively isolated tour-routing hub, promoters have said.
