Ranch owner pitches concert site Robert Baun

LOVELAND — Sam Lavin can imagine the likes of Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson singing in her front yard.

In order to fulfill her vision, Lavin wants to convert part of her Larimer County ranch into an outdoor concert venue.

Lavin, who owns 1,455 acres between Loveland and the Big Thompson Canyon, has proposed a $25 million facility on her land that would be one of Northern Colorado’s largest concert settings.

Called Serenade Park, the venue could accommodate up to 9,000 concertgoers, roughly the same capacity as the famous Red Rocks amphitheater west of Denver.

Unlike Red Rocks, Lavin said she wants her 230-acre project to be tailored toward country-and-western and soft-rock performers.

“This is being built for our age generation — for 35 to 105,´ said Lavin, 47. “It will never be punk or hard rock.”

Initial designs for Serenade Park – 9800 W. U.S. Highway 34 – include offices and backstage facilities totaling 27,500 square feet. The concert venue itself would be partially covered by an awning that would span about 72,000 square feet or 1.6 acres, enough to shelter about 3,000 people and a dance floor.

Remaining seating would be on a lawn that extends uphill from the stage. The stage would have its back to U.S. Highway 34, which passes on the south side of Lavin’s ranch.

Grounds around the concert area would include trails for hiking and horse-drawn carriage rides, a games area, flower gardens and picnic grounds.

“The trademark I want for Serenade Park is flowers,” Lavin said. “I want to make a garden that will blow people away.”

Lavin, who has a background in dance and musical festival production, said the concert season at Serenade Park would be from Memorial Day to mid October. Concerts would start at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, typically wrapping up by 5 p.m. Post-concert activities would include a “Saturday Night Dance” under the awning.

She expects the facility to create about 75 jobs, including security, stage help, hospitality and food-and-beverage workers. Lavin’s business, Serenade Park LLC, would also have offices in the backstage area.

Lavin has already arranged a high-profile business team for the project. She’s enlisted Rob “Cubby” Colby, who has managed sound systems for acts such as Phil Collins and Prince, to handle Serenade Park’s sound technology. L&R Security, which has run security for Super Bowls and PGA golf tournaments, is Lavin’s security manager.

Still, Lavin will have to step through a public review process that could be contentious. Lavin’s land is zoned for farming by Larimer County authorities and would have to be rezoned for tourist-related uses.

Lavin introduced Serenade Park to neighbors April 9 at a meeting that drew about 80 people. Some of her neighbors aren’t pleased with the potential impact of sound and traffic near the facility.

“I think that would present a problem for people who use (Highway) 34 like we do – it’s already bad on weekends in the summer,´ said Kathy Mahan, a resident of Masonville, located four miles north of the Serenade Park site.

Mahan also fears that County Road 27, which passes through Masonville between Fort Collins and Loveland, would see more traffic on weekend nights.

LOVELAND — Sam Lavin can imagine the likes of Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson singing in her front yard.

In order to fulfill her vision, Lavin wants to convert part of her Larimer County ranch into an outdoor concert venue.

Lavin, who owns 1,455 acres between Loveland and the Big Thompson Canyon, has proposed a $25 million facility on her land that would be one of Northern Colorado’s largest concert settings.

Called Serenade Park, the venue could accommodate up to 9,000 concertgoers, roughly the same capacity as the famous Red Rocks amphitheater west of Denver.

Unlike Red Rocks, Lavin said she wants her 230-acre project to be tailored toward country-and-western and soft-rock performers.

“This is being built for our age generation — for 35 to 105,´ said Lavin, 47. “It will never be punk or hard rock.”

Initial designs for Serenade Park – 9800 W. U.S. Highway 34 – include offices and backstage facilities totaling 27,500 square feet. The concert venue itself would be partially covered by an awning that would span about 72,000 square feet or 1.6 acres, enough to shelter about 3,000 people and a dance floor.

Remaining seating would be on a lawn that extends uphill from the stage. The stage would have its back to U.S. Highway 34, which passes on the south side of Lavin’s ranch.

Grounds around the concert area would include trails for hiking and horse-drawn carriage rides, a games area, flower gardens and picnic grounds.

“The trademark I want for Serenade Park is flowers,” Lavin said. “I want to make a garden that will blow people away.”

Lavin, who has a background in dance and musical festival production, said the concert season at Serenade Park would be from Memorial Day to mid October. Concerts would start at 1 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, typically wrapping up by 5 p.m. Post-concert activities would include a “Saturday Night Dance” under the awning.

She expects the facility to create about 75 jobs, including security, stage help, hospitality and food-and-beverage workers. Lavin’s business, Serenade Park LLC, would also have offices in the backstage area.

Lavin has already arranged a high-profile business team for the project. She’s enlisted Rob “Cubby” Colby, who has managed sound systems for acts such as Phil Collins and Prince, to handle Serenade Park’s sound technology. L&R Security, which has run security for Super Bowls and PGA golf tournaments, is Lavin’s security manager.

Still, Lavin will have to step through a public review process that could be contentious. Lavin’s land is zoned for farming by Larimer County authorities and would have to be rezoned for tourist-related uses.

Lavin introduced Serenade Park to neighbors April 9 at a meeting that drew about 80 people. Some of her neighbors aren’t pleased with the potential impact of sound and traffic near the facility.

“I think that would present a problem for people who use (Highway) 34 like we do – it’s already bad on weekends in the summer,´ said Kathy Mahan, a resident of Masonville, located four miles north of the Serenade Park site.

Mahan also fears that County Road 27, which passes through Masonville between Fort Collins and Loveland, would see more traffic on weekend nights.

Lavin estimates a sold-out show – 9,000 people – would generate about 3,000 vehicles. Her own traffic study, however, shows that peak traffic before and after the shows would increase only 10 percent from regular traffic volumes.

Lighting and sound from Serenade Park are also causes for concern, said Bob McGlasson, another Masonville resident who is opposed to the project.

“Why not put it out on I-25 and let the noise mix with the 18-wheelers and the truck traffic?” McGlasson said.

Lavin said she’s taking great pains to mitigate traffic, light and noise problems. She’s also planing a line of trees to obscure Serenade Park from the passing U.S. 34 traffic.

If Lavin gets approval for Serenade Park, she also faces the prospect of a competitive market for music concerts.

Locally, the new Budweiser Events Center at the Larimer County Fairgrounds will open this fall, providing a concert hall that seats about 5,500. Furthermore, the owners of Thunder Mountain Harley Davidson have proposed a 5,000-seat amphitheater on a site near the Loveland-Fort Collins Municipal Airport.

“I think it’s great that people want to do this to bring big-name acts,´ said Morris Beegle, owner of Hapi Skratch Entertainment, a Loveland-based music producer and promotion company. “But the concert-promotion business is really saturated. Attendance has been down, certainly in the Denver market, with Red Rocks and Fiddler’s Green and the 5,000-seat canopy they put up next to Pepsi Center.”

As an outdoor venue, however, Serenade Park could have an advantage for attracting popular acts in the summertime.

“Certain artists will prefer to play outdoor venues, especially in Colorado,” Beegle said.

Lavin expects to make a formal submittal of the project proposal to Larimer County officials by early summer. She hopes to start construction by the end of this year and open in time for the summer season of 2005.

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