Live Nation may partner with investment firm for Portland venue

The new 66,000-square-foot venue, which will tentatively be called the Portland Music Hall, is expected to host at least 125 concerts, comedy shows, and other events per year, and create more than 250 full-time jobs, according to the developer. It would be built on Cumberland Avenue, on property adjacent to Portland City Hall that is now occupied by a vacant printing-press building and a parking lot.
Mile Marker Investments announced Friday it wants to build a 3,300-seat “state-of-the-art theater” at the edge of the arts district in Maine’s largest city.
A Maine-based investment firm is teaming with Live Nation on a proposed new concert venue in downtown Portland.
“Portland has an incredible history of live entertainment, amazing restaurants, shops, hotels, and cultural centers,” Todd Goldenfarb, a principal in Mile Marker Investments, said in a statement. “We are so happy to enhance that reputation and create more opportunities to see live acts here.”
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Pending approval by city planners, Goldenfarb’s firm plans to begin construction next fall and open for business in late 2027. Mile Marker has already discussed the proposal with city officials, including Portland Mayor Mark Dion and economic development director Greg Watson, as well as the chamber of commerce and the neighborhood association.
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“We’re getting a really strong response in a positive way,” Goldenfarb said Friday.
Currently, Portland’s concert stages include the Cross Insurance Arena (formerly the Cumberland County Civic Center), which can accommodate crowds of about 9,000; the historic State Theatre, which has a capacity of about 1,900; and the city-run Merrill Auditorium, which is comparable in size to the State Theatre. (Larger outdoor concerts are held at Thompson’s Point.)
Mile Marker Investments said the new venue will have excellent acoustics and sightlines, a “classic marquee,” and a “retro-inspired” lobby. By teaming with the behemoth ticketing and concert-promotion company Live Nation, Mile Marker hopes to attract top-tier artists.
Don Law, Live Nation’s representative in New England, predicts the new concert venue will have a positive economic impact on Portland and Southern Maine.
“We see it time and again when a venue opens: a new option means more shows, for more fans, generating more activity downtown. It is especially impactful for restaurants and hotels,” Law said in a statement.
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Goldenfarb said the venue’s proposed size and design are modeled closely on the MGM Music Hall, which opened next to Fenway Park two years ago.
“Working with [Law] and his team, their feeling is that a lot of the shows that go to MGM and want to go to Portland will be able to now,” Goldenfarb said.
Mile Marker Investments was involved in the development of the Longfellow Hotel in Portland; commercial properties in South Portland and Austin, Texas; and residential developments in Austin and Miami Beach.
Mark Shanahan can be reached at mark.shanahan@globe.com. Follow him @MarkAShanahan.