The promoters of the Innsbrook After Hours concert series are taking the next set of steps toward a potential move from Henrico to Goochland.

EventMakers-USA Inc., the company that runs the day-to-day of the popular summer concerts, is moving forward with its initial pre-application for a conditional use permit to bring their series to West Creek, albeit without the Innsbrook name attached to it.

The firm is eyeing a venue on a 5-acre site owned by Henrico-based Markel Corp. at 12575 West Creek Parkway near the Richmond Strikers Field Complex. It currently hosts the concerts at its 6-acre home at 4901 Lake Brook Drive within Innsbrook.

The Innsbrook site is likely to be developed in the future, which EventMakers executive producer Larry Creeger said has caused his group to keep its options open for a new location.

Creeger said his group remains split on whether its series will remain in Innsbrook or move to West Creek.

“We’ve expressed that we would like to stay in Innsbrook,” Creeger said. “But the landlords have plans to develop the site that houses the concert series, and we need to start making preparations now for the 2020 series in case they move forward with development.”

The Innsbrook series’ current venue sits on land owned by Raleigh-based Highwoods Properties, a major landlord in Innsbrook that has been part of recent efforts to modernize and diversify the office park with more mixed uses, along with enhancing parks, trails and gathering spaces throughout the 35-year-old complex.

EventMakers-USA does not have an option to purchase or lease the proposed concert site.

Creeger said EventMakers-USA has already secured a new title sponsor for the event should it be relocated to Goochland and it would not take the Innsbrook After Hours name with it.

“The Innsbrook name would only apply to the concert series if it stayed in Innsbrook,” Creeger explained. “If we have to leave Innsbrook, we would need to have another title sponsor name.”

Creeger would not disclose the name of the title sponsor for the potential Goochland concert series.

Jo Ann Hunter, Goochland County director of community development, said EventMakers-USA has submitted a traffic study for the site. The group also will conduct a sound test from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. July 9 at the proposed site as part of its conditions to move forward with the pre-application process.

A community meeting about the proposed concert series venue also is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. at the Manakin 1 Fire Station on River Road in Manakin-Sabot.

Hunter said the county’s planning commission could make a recommendation on EventMakers-USA’s pre-application CUP at its Sept. 5 meeting; while the Board of Supervisors could vote on the matter at its Oct. 1 meeting.

EventMakers-USA first submitted its pre-application for a CUP to bring the concert series to Goochland in October 2018.

Events with over 1,501 people must apply for a CUP in Goochland, which gives the Board of Supervisors authority to tack on conditions, such as more emergency personnel, additional insurance and operating hours, to the permit. In addition to those conditions, applicants also must go through several rounds of public hearings before the CUP is sent to the county’s planning commission and board of supervisors for final approval.

Innsbrook After Hours averaged about 3,900 patrons, with two of the seven shows last year selling out.

Should a move to West Creek occur, documents show the concert series would use several of the Strikers’ surface parking lots to accommodate vehicular traffic into the venue. Many of the structures, including trailers, staging, platforms and scaffolding, would be temporary.

EventMakers-USA has been operating the Innsbrook After Hours concert series since 2013 on behalf of the Innsbrook Foundation, which serves as a type of community association for the sprawling Innsbrook development.

Net proceeds from the concert series support the Innsbrook Foundation and the National Constitution Plaque Initiative of the American Constitution Spirit Foundation.

If the After Hours series were to depart for Goochland, Yvonne Mastromano, Innsbrook Foundation executive director, said the nonprofit would work to find similar entertainment options for the office park.

“We’re going to continue to work with people that will provide the type of entertainment Innsbrook is known for,” Mastromano said. “Innsbrook has grown into the CBD of Henrico County, and we look forward to offering cutting edge entertainment.”