Buffalo Outer Harbor concert pavilion poised to open in 2024

A view from hill viewing area looking toward a new concert pavilion near Lakeside Bike Park at the Outer Harbor in Buffalo. The pavilion will open in spring 2024.

Don't be surprised if a performer at the music pavilion slated to open next spring on the Outer Harbor leaves the stage during the roar of the crowd, steps into one of two showers inside the green room directly behind it and reemerges minutes later to play an encore.

Hey, it's possible.

The open-air, $12 million music pavilion and events center, fronting Lake Erie on an elevated concrete slab within the steel frame of the former Terminal B warehouse, is nearly complete.

It will be the first permanent stage on the Outer Harbor, where concerts have been held for more than a quarter century at several locations, but until now never with built-in electrical and water service.

"This is going to be a great location to have a concert, with great music in a great setting," said Mark Wendel, the senior director of design for Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. who has overseen the site's transformation.

"I'm looking forward to seeing the public have the opportunity to watch the sunsets and utilize space that hasn't been open to them for a number of years," Wendel said.

Cyclists cruise along the concrete in front of the new Buffalo Outer Harbor concert pavilion, which sits along the Greenway Bike Trail.

The space, southwest of Lakeside Bike Park and reachable through the bike park tunnel, will also host cultural events, charity runs and other activities.

Encompassing 97,148 square feet, the former Terminal B will be open to the public to walk around in when nothing is scheduled.

The site will hold 5,000 to 6,000 people, Wendel said. That's smaller than the earlier estimate of 8,000, a decision influenced by traffic capability at concerts held on a nearby site the past couple of summers.

There are no seats, so people will be expected to bring blankets or fold-up chairs. A few outcroppings and an overlook deck also provide viewing areas. There is pavement near the stage, to be painted gray, where people will be able to stand, and a cutout in the middle with artificial turf to also watch from and where the soundboard will stand.

Two rooms of insulated metal paneling are near the stage. The one to the left is for mechanicals; the other is the green room, which includes showers, living room, kitchenette, bathrooms and makeup room. Buses and motor coaches will be able to pull up backstage.

The expansive wooden deck stage, with angular perforated and corrugated metal panels, is 70 feet wide and 35 feet deep. It was designed by Bergmann Associates of Rochester. Pulldown doors, not yet installed, will offer the option of a black backdrop while helping seal out some of the elements.

A view looking out at the audience area from the Buffalo Outer Harbor music pavilion scheduled to open in spring. The concrete out front was built to avoid the space from turning into a mud pit during rainy concerts.

With only the area immediately over the stage covered, it's possible more protection will be needed to keep rain and wind off the lake away. Wendel said the design team wants to first see how things are working before adding anything.

Landscaping includes red maple, gray birch and quaking aspen among the 182 trees planted. There will be 195 shrubs and 365 perennials and meadow mixes in a couple of deer-exclusion zones, to be completed in spring. Fisher Associates of Ithaca was the project landscape architect.

"A lot of the plantings were selected not just to be natural habitat but to be a pollinating meadow," Wendel said.

A ring road in the back will allow food trucks and vendors to set up for all events.

The paved area in front of the stage needed room for fire trucks in case of emergency, Wendel said. There was also concern grass near the stage would become a mud pit when it rained, another reason for paving the area.

The site of a new concert pavilion, utilizing the structure of the former Terminal B building on the Buffalo Outer Harbor, is largely complete and is expected to open next spring. It will hold 5,000 to 6,000 people for concerts and events.

A bank of lights available overhead will supplement acts that typically travel with their own lights and sound, Wendel said. A catwalk above the stage allows for the hanging of theatrics.

The rusted steel frame which, with the concrete floor is all that's left of Terminal B, is being treated with a clear-coat sealant used for marine environments.

Trenches will soon be built on the concrete to get rid of the pools of water that accumulate after rainfall.

Portable bathrooms will be used initially, but a later phase of the project could bring public bathrooms to the venue or the nearby bike park, Wendel said.

The waterfront agency is hoping as early as next year to improve the large parking lot at Terminal A by leveling and striping the surface.

Catwalks in the ceiling of the Buffalo Outer Harbor concert pavilion, which will host concerts and other events.

State Supreme Court Justice Donna M. Siwek rejected the challenges put forth by the League of Women Voters of Buffalo Niagara, 21st Century Park in the Outer Harbor and the Western New York Environmental Alliance.

The project is one of many on the Outer Harbor started under Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Buffalo native who has shown a keen interest in city waterfront development.

Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp., at the governor's urging, is studying the possibility of bringing touring cruise ships to Buffalo; has sought a developer for the long-vacant Terminal A building; is adding restrooms and an overlook deck at the Bell Slip; and building a permanent restaurant and relocating bike trails closer to the water at Wilkeson Pointe.

"Her eyes are always on Western New York, and she will remain that driving force," said Bonnie Lockwood, the governor's Western New York point person.

Donovan Dinkmeyer uses a concrete grinder to smooth the concrete along a new concert pavilion under construction near Lakeside Bike Park at the Outer Harbor in Buffalo.

The project area encompasses about 8 acres of the 208-acre Outer Harbor. The venue complies with the city Green Code, which restricts development on the Outer Harbor to a 39-acre area by the two terminals at the southern edge, and at the marina. Built on landfill and populated by invasive species, the site required considerable environmental remediation.

But the decision to construct the pavilion and bulldoze the site drew considerable controversy.

Critics say the crowds, noise and car pollution from concerts and events disrupts the site's ecology, which includes migratory birds, waterfowl and deer, and is a hindrance to the passive recreation many enjoy on the Outer Harbor.

Three organizations seeking to block the project lost their case in State Supreme Court in December 2021. Cottonwoods and Black locusts were among trees toppled to begin site construction shortly after the court decision.

A view through the bones of the new Buffalo Outer Harbor concert pavilion.

As site construction moved forward this year, concerts held on a temporary stage this summer on a nearby lawn have been well attended. Capacity has generally been limited to around 5,000 ticket holders.

The smart way to start your day. We sift through all the news to give you a concise, informative look at the top headlines and must-read stories every weekday.

News Staff Reporter

A new amphitheater is nearing completion on the Outer Harbor, adapting the frame of the former Terminal B building to create an outdoor concer…

Removing the trees follows a State Supreme Court decision on Dec. 10 dismissing a lawsuit seeking to halt the $13 million project.