David Lindquist

david.lindquist@indystar.com

The concert expert behind plans to build an outdoor venue in Downtown Indianapolis revealed himself Wednesday as Dave Lucas, a music-industry titan who co-founded Hamilton County's Deer Creek Music Center (now known as Klipsch Music Center) in the late 1980s.

Lucas shared detailed plans for a 15,000-capacity amphitheater, nicknamed "The Stamp," with The Star. If financing comes through, the venue will be built on the east half of the former General Motors stamping plant site, 340 S. White River Parkway West Drive.

To attract acts to play The Stamp, independent promoter Lucas will compete with Live Nation — the concert corporation he led as president when it was known as Clear Channel Entertainment's live music division from May 2002 until July 2004.

Lucas exited Clear Channel after a new position, president of global music, was established above his post. During a 60-minute interview, Lucas mostly steered clear of references to his former employer.

Live Nation owns 24,000-capacity Klipsch Music Center, and Live Nation has presented concerts at the Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park, since Lucas launched the public-private initiative between the two entities in early 2004.

During the past decade, Lucas has built his own company, Lucas Entertainment Group, lining up acts for Super Bowl Village in Indianapolis, the Indiana State Fair and an Atlanta venue known as Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

A 66-year-old native of Indianapolis, Lucas said he wants to see his hometown thrive.

"This will drive hundreds of thousands of people to Downtown Indianapolis, and they will shop there, they will eat there and they will stay there in hotels," he said.

The most distinctive element of The Stamp is the salvage and restoration of one of the factory's craneways, designed by industrial architect Albert Kahn in the 1930s. The glass-dominated building — 700 feet long and more than 40 feet high — will be home to a permanent stage, as well as the box office, concession stands, restrooms and backstage offices and dressing rooms.

"We thought it would be a neat thing," Lucas said of incorporating the Kahn craneway. "It actually costs us a lot more to keep part of (the plant). But we think it will make the best-looking amphitheater in the country."

The $40 million project is under way thanks to Lucas' affiliation with Carmel developer REI Investments, which earlier this month won its bid to buy the GM site from RACER Trust.

The west half of the 102-acre property is expected to be developed as a $400 million jail and justice center sought by Mayor Greg Ballard, with some measure of green space separating the concerts from the courtrooms.

In the 1980s, Lucas and his Sunshine Promotions partner, Steve Sybesma, initially wanted to place Deer Creek in Downtown Indianapolis. Political pressure, however, sent the duo toward an eventual suburban home.

"This opportunity will never present itself again," Lucas said of his new plan. "The leaders of Indianapolis realize that now."

Lucas said The Stamp will seek partnerships with arts groups and nonprofit organizations in need of a venue. He's open to working with other concert promoters and to hosting academic graduation ceremonies, too.

Bordered by the White River to the east, the amphitheater's stage will face north toward Washington Street. A white Teflon canopy resembling a high-peak tent will cover 7,000 pavilion seats, and a sloped lawn will accommodate 8,000 general-admission attendees.

Lucas said the venue will have four configurations for different-sized events: 2,500 (partial pavilion), 7,000 (full pavilion), 8,000 (the lawn, implementing a temporary stage outside the pavilion) and 15,000 (pavilion and lawn).

A parking lot will accommodate 5,000 vehicles.

But with Live Nation being the dominant concert company in the United States — owning Ticketmaster and more than 100 venues — what can Lucas hope to bring to The Stamp?

He points to a recent success story in Atlanta. Squaring off with Live Nation's 19,000-capacity Aaron's Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Lucas lined up shows at 13,000-capacity Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre from 2008 to 2012.

The Verizon venue, overseen by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, hosted shows by Kenny Chesney, the Eagles, Phish, Tom Petty and the Dave Matthews Band across summers that featured about 20 shows per season.

"The artist decides where they want to play," Lucas said. "The artists decided they wanted something more cutting-edge and newer. If we did it there, why can't we do it here?"

Roads leading to The Stamp include the South White River Parkway West exit from Washington Street, the Harding Street exit from I-70, and Kentucky Avenue to Oliver Avenue.

CSX railroad tracks are found between the venue and Washington Street. When asked about noisy trains competing with concerts, Lucas made his only explicit mention of a Live Nation venue.

"Our stage is farther away from that railroad track," Lucas said, than the same track's distance to the stage at the Lawn, 801 W. Washington St., located to the northeast and less than a mile from The Stamp site.

White River State Park executive director Robert Whitt has expressed his opposition to a concert venue at the stamping plant site.

In February, Live Nation pledged to invest $10 million in construction improvements at the Lawn. On Wednesday, Whitt said the White River State Park Development Commission is moving forward with plans to expand that venue from 7,500 to at least 10,000 capacity with as many as 5,000 seats under a pavilion.

"There's certainly room for one larger Downtown venue in this market, and not really two," Whitt said. "I think one or the other will get done. It's too early to say which it will be. No one in their right mind would build both of them."

With a no-snag timetable, Whitt said the expanded Lawn could open for business in 2016 — the same summer Lucas plans to open The Stamp.

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.