Azura Amphitheater

Azura Amphitheater (long known to locals simply as Sandstone) is an open-air amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas, owned by the Unified Government of Wyandotte County / Kansas City, Kansas.¹ Designed by Bird Engineering and opened in 1984 as the Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts, it shares grounds with the Kansas City Renaissance Festival and National Agricultural Center and Hall of Fame, adjacent to Wyandotte County Park.¹

Overview

Location	Bonner Springs, Kansas
Owner	Unified Government of Wyandotte County / KCK1
Opened	1984 (as Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts)1
Designer	Bird Engineering1
Common local name	Sandstone1
Capacity (historic configuration)	about 6,700 reserved seats plus lawn (through 2007 era)1

Name history

The venue has carried many corporate names while locals continued to say “Sandstone”:¹

• Sandstone Center for the Performing Arts (original, sources give 1983–1993 / open 1984)
• Sandstone Amphitheater (1993–2002, and 2008 reversion)
• Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (2002 naming-rights deal with Clear Channel Entertainment)
• Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone
• Cricket Wireless Amphitheater
• Providence Medical Center Amphitheater (2016–2021)
• Azura Amphitheater (2021–present)

Operations

Clear Channel / later Live Nation managed the venue into 2007; Live Nation let the contract expire at year-end 2007.¹ In January 2008 the Unified Government contracted local promoter Chris Fritz / New West Presentations to operate the venue, with the Sandstone name restored under that deal.¹ Later naming cycles (Providence, Azura) continued the corporate-title pattern while the physical plant remained the Sandstone bowl.¹

A low ~37-foot stage roof has historically constrained some touring productions.¹

Sources

See also

• bonner-springs-ks
• kc-renaissance-festival
• national-agricultural-center-and-hall-of-fame
• Wiki

Footnotes

1. Wikipedia — “Sandstone Amphitheater” (Azura Amphitheater) — asserts: Bonner Springs open-air amphitheater; UG ownership; shared grounds with RenFest and Ag Hall; Bird Engineering; opened 1984 as Sandstone Center; name timeline including Verizon, Capitol Federal, Cricket, Providence 2016–21, Azura 2021–; Live Nation exit 2007; New West / Fritz 2008; ~6,700 reserved + lawn; 37-ft roof; local “Sandstone” usage. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²