[arjaybee]

I know this topic has been discussed in the past but could someone please give me an update on what plans, if there are any, Carowinds has for the palladium besides Sonfest and Joyfest and Dance & Band fest. Once upon a time, the palladium would get first run concert tours to come through. Are the economics not there for the park or the acts to do this anymore? Wouldn't it be cool to have Coldplay, John Mayer, Van Halen, Kanye West, Alicia Keys, Carrie Underwood, etc. show up at the Carowinds Palladium? Carowinds can't get one or two acts to swing by each season? What happened in the music promotion business or amusement park business or Carowinds to make the situation the way it stands today?

[Edwardo]

Most of the people you mentioned don't really do smaller amphitheaters, but have moved into stadium tours (and selling them out). I'm sure smaller pop and country and rnb acts (and Weird Al) will still pop in occasionally.

[cdp123]

Carowinds would need to do a big renovation with more seats, etc. and make it more like Darien Lake for those acts to come anywhere near the park. But hey, Sonfest looks nice this year. Also, nice job on stealing that Carowinds logo I edited, haha schnazzy, isnt it?

[bgwfreak]

I saw Weird Al there last summer.

When Verizon got built, that cut most of the concerts for Carowinds. Verizon holds more, plus it has the lawn.

[Dukeis#1]

Back in the old days the Paladium did get some big name acts because it was pretty much the only large amphitheater in the whole state. Now its just passed over because of Verizon.

I think amusement park concert venues have went out of style in general.

[arjaybee]

cdp123, I took your suggestion and checked out your MySpace deal...yeah, the logo is very snazzy.
As for the palladium, every act I mentioned played amphitheaters on their last tours. Kanye West brought his 'Glow In The Dark' Tour to the Time Warner Amphitheater in Raleigh (yes I know he played the Arena when he came to Charlotte) and it seems to me that the only difference between the amphitheaters in Raleigh and Charlotte (Verizon) and the Carowinds Palladium is lawn seating. Verizon Wireless Ampitheater has a capacity of 18,741 while the Palladium seats 13,000 but 10,154 of Verizon's capacity is lawn seating...Verizon has less theater seating (8,587 seats) than the Palladium...Time Warner only has around 7000 theater seats (13,000 lawn). That brings me to this, if the palladium has anywhere from 4,500 to 6,000 more theater seats which are priced at minimum $10 more than lawn seats then the palladium should be competitive in terms of economics to the artists...the lawn seating allows for total capacity to be 18,000 to 20,000 at the other venues. So is total capacity the issue? Also, with Carowinds being attached I thought that park promotions used to guarantee a Palladium capacity sell out (13,000) or cover the difference, which the rarely had to do because season passholders & paid admission park guests would get discounted palladium tickets if they chose to go. The concerts would increase gate at the park and the gate at the park would cover any remaining seats not purchased by fans.
It seems to me that Carowinds just stopped trying to be competitive with Verizon or the other venues or that they don't think the effort needed reaps enough of an increase in gate or profit for the park.
I remember when Kings Dominion had a Black College Day concert at their ampitheater with a few hip-hop acts (I know Bow-Wow was one of them...can't remember the others) and the place was packed...both the park and the ampitheater.
At any rate, I think the palladium is under serviced...even if you don't get first run concerts, what about popular comedians or the NC/SC Symphonies or Pops...or the Charlotte Symphony or Pops. I recently saw 'The Music of John Williams' performed by the Greensboro Symphony and thought it would be so cool to cap off a day at Carowinds by hearing all these great movie scores live at the palladium. The palladium just seems like alot of wasted potential to me. In its current state, they should just tear it down and build that hyper under the bridge.

[Edwardo]

Are you talking about differences in Seating...or differences in STAGE? How big is Kanye's stage? Stages have gotten bigger and bigger. Kanye is growing up. I'm sure he could fit on Nissan Pavilion's stage or Verizon's stage, but prolly not carowinds.

And BGW, I was at that concert as well last summer.

[RollerBee]

The Paladium seems to have become outdated, and it seems that it has been given a red X by Carowinds Enthusiasts. My personal thought is to during the summer, try and find local acts to play in it. Even if they have to include a concert with the price of admission. This would give local talent a place to try and get a start. During October, I say turn it into another maze, or another SCarowinds show, and use Carowinds Theater for a maze like they used to. I believe, the problem with the Paladium is that, it has used up it's space to expand. I think if Carowinds ever wants an ampitheater with the popularity of Paladium from the 70s, 80s, and 90s; they will have to build new one.

[Davidtmp]

I agree with ya on this, it is under utilized. I think it could be used more. I remember seeing MC Hammer, TLC, and Boys to Men back in the day, as well as Paula Abdul and Color Me Badd. Actually, I think Paula cancelled the concert at the Coliseum and rescheduled at the Plaladium, not sure of the reason. All these shows had tickets for $12 for season pass holders, which is one of the reasons I even had a season pass. Oh well, so much for the good ol' days. Still, it could be utilized more than it is. Even some Christian groups could get people to the park, possibly to make a day of it and go to the park.
The only thing is now entertainers demand so much more than they used to, not sure if Carowinds can charge people $50 and fill the Paladium way down in SC for 2nd rate acts. But for some of these comedians that go sell out Oven's, it could be a chance to get more out to see these acts. Not sure if they would ever do the crude acts, but I would love to see Chris Rock outdoors on a Sat night!

[Thriller]

I remember when BoysIIMen played at Carowinds a long time ago and also Faith Evans in that same year. What I think really made the Palladium so overlooked was the crowded space of which it sits. The ticket and concession area is very crowded and does not appeal to the safety and comfort levels that other big amphitheaters now offer. Maybe artist these days feel they are too good to play at an amusement venue or, Carowinds may not cater to artist the way they want, so they skip it. Overall, I don't see the Palladium being much more than a spot for the music festival and "Carowinds" sponsored events!!!

[arjaybee]

Well, its apparent that the A-list tours won't ever play Carowinds again, but it still doesn't excuse the lack of variety at the venue. Again, symphony orchestras play summer pops concerts at pitiful ampitheaters in local parks. Comedy is performed at small clubs or auditoriums. It just seems to me that no creativity is being exercised to try and utilize the palladium. Every year its 'Sonfest' and 'Joyfest'. Which is cool if that's your thing, but what about the remainder of the park operating season? The palladium is dorment most of the time. Heck, they don't even book 'Seseme Street Live' or 'Go, Diego, Go'...nothing. If this current lack of use continues, why not just tear it down and make good use of the space...expand the 'Thrill Zone' secton of the park. I have the same problem with the unused second 3D theater. Why not bring back '7th Portal' as an alternative to 'Spongebob'? If the palladium is old and outdated then remove the sucker or update it. It's just too much wasted space.

[arby]

In a comment to a previous post, I personally don't think the Paladium is out of place. What I've never liked is that it was isolated from the park like a separate entity and is completely underutilized. They could scale it down a bit, if needed, but I'd like to see it become part of Carowinds and open during the summer to host park shows and not just for things like Christian music day. If you have ever been in the Paladium, it could be utilized for all kinds of shows. It's a perfect show venue right at the front gate.

[cackylack]

In a comment to a previous post, I personally don't think the Paladium is out of place. What I've never liked is that it was isolated from the park like a separate entity and is completely underutilized. They could scale it down a bit, if needed, but I'd like to see it become part of Carowinds and open during the summer to host park shows and not just for things like Christian music day. If you have ever been in the Paladium, it could be utilized for all kinds of shows. It's a perfect show venue right at the front gate.

I've been going to Carowinds since it opened. That is indeed the way it WAS...but it's obvious that things have changed. There are other nearby venues now, and the days of large outdoor amphitheatres are probably behind us, for better or worse. Besides, it has a giant coaster that is going to be wrapping around a couple sides of it. That's not exactly conducive to hearing and watching concerts. Mark my words...it's on the way out.

[FamousAmos]

I think that it will be going, however, upon viewing the designs and layout for the new entrance, they crews will be doing the following:
--Creating new entrance ramps to the Paladium
--Creating a new gate and turnstiles for the Paladium

this makes me wonder it they will tear it down in the future or not. Why build these extras if it will just be torn down later on?
I don't know, but we'll see soon enough.

[redrunner97]

The amphitheater isn't going anywhere. It's used about as much as the average amusement park palladium typically is.
As far as it not being suitable for shows now that Fury is being built around it, I don't think that will factor into the volume of a concert. I saw Weird Al Yankovic there around '07 and it was LOUD (you know... like a concert... ), and I don't think the roar of a B&M would be too overpowering, if audible at all.

The cost of ripping it out would be more expensive than leaving it in the park and utilizing it whenever possible. And if they want us to be "Cedar Point of the South" then I expect the added attention will create more opportunities to use the amphitheater for concerts, extra-pay shows, etc.