White River Amphitheatre, a brand-new player on the summer concert scene

It's been a long time coming.

The new White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, which opens June 14 with a rock concert starring local heroes Heart, was first proposed in 1989 as part of an economic-growth plan by the Muckleshoot tribe for its reservation lands near Auburn.

But plans for the outdoor concert facility, designed to rival the highly successful, 20,000-capacity Gorge Amphitheatre in Eastern Washington, took a back seat to the main element of the economic plan, a full-service casino, which opened on another piece of tribal land in 1995.

But even before the Muckleshoot Casino opened, tribal representatives traveled to outdoor concert sites throughout the country, and opened talks with several major concert-production companies, including House of Blues Concerts (then called Universal Concerts), which owns and runs The Gorge.

The tribe eventually chose Bill Graham Presents, a concert company based in San Francisco, to plan, build and run the facility. "We want to bring an asset to the Puget Sound region," Rob Otsea, a Muckleshoot tribal attorney, said at the time. "We wanted something we could be proud of, and be known for something more than just the casino."

Work began on the site in June 1997.

BGP is now part of Clear Channel Entertainment, by far the largest concert-promotion company in North America. Because HOB Concerts is the second biggest — Clear Channel has tried to buy HOB several times, without success — an industry rivalry has been playing out over White River for more than a decade.

White River has announced nine shows for this season, all of them rock concerts, except for country-music superstar Alan Jackson. Seven or eight more shows will be announced, according to White River's press representative, Karen Donovan. They may include artists expected to draw half-capacity or less, and may include country, pop or folk concerts. White River has an advantage over the Gorge in that it can present mid-capacity attractions. All the Gorge shows have to be big draws, to lure concertgoers to the remote site.

Executives of the two amphitheaters are acting cordial right now, saying they're not worried about competition.

But HOB and White River's main opposition group, Citizens for Safety & Environment, share the same attorney, David Bricklin, who's continuing to fight the facility. A suit was filed in King County Superior Court in March to block an access permit from Highway 164 to the site. The court will consider the suit in September.

Traffic concerns have been at the heart of the opposition from the beginning. But other challenges were thrown up, including noise and environmental concerns.

In the face of such opposition, the tribe voluntarily stopped work on the project in April 1998 for environmental assessments by federal agencies, hastened by pressure from then Sen. Slade Gorton, who himself was being pressured by local politicians.

Because the development is on sovereign tribal land, the Muckleshoots did not need local permits.

The environmental review took four years. Work resumed in September 2002 after federal permits were issued.

Traffic woes

That left just one major hurdle — traffic concerns.

The concert site is on a two-lane stretch of state Highway 154, known as the Auburn-Enumclaw Road, about five miles past the Muckleshoot Casino. From the beginning, those who regularly use the road argued that it would get hopelessly clogged before and after concerts. The tribe addressed such concerns by proposing that it connect the amphitheater site to the highway at four spots between Southeast 400th and Southeast 408th streets. In February, the DOT approved the plan. That set the stage for the June opening.

But those new roadways into the site will probably not be ready for opening day. They may be finished in time for the June 20 concert starring Beck, and definitely will be in use for Ozzfest on July 12, a spokeswoman for the amphitheater said.

When plans for White River were unveiled in May 1997, costs were estimated at $17 million. Now, after the long fight for survival, the cost is estimated at $30 million.

The 1,750-member tribe probably can afford it. Muckleshoot Casino is the most profitable in the state. Last November, the tribe agreed to purchase the 158-acre site of the Emerald Downs racetrack for $73.6 million.

So after all that time and money, what is White River like?

State-of-the-art

A visit to the still-unfinished site shows that it's a state-of-the-art facility that makes use of the longtime experience of BGP/Clear Channel. BGP has operated the popular Shoreline Amphitheatre in the Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, for 17 years. It has been the San Francisco Bay Area's concert-promotion powerhouse since the 1960s.

Entering the 80-acre White River site, a former cow pasture, concertgoers will immediately encounter a large sculpture of an Indian canoe, one of many artworks on the site inspired by the history and culture of the Muckleshoots and other Salish coastal tribes. Beyond the canoe are several permanent concession and restroom buildings (the Gorge uses portable restrooms and temporary concession stands). Broad, curving walkways are surrounded by lots of shade trees and places to sit, including picnic tables (but you can't bring a picnic; no food or drink are allowed into the amphitheater).

To the right of the entrance is a pedestrian bridge to the performance site. The bridge goes over a sunken driveway to the backstage areas. From the bridge, you can watch equipment trucks, and maybe even limos carrying the performers, go by underneath you. Another walkway, without a bridge, connects to the other side of the performance area.

Some 8,500 seats, covered in bright red fabric, are under the amphitheater's soaring, roughly triangular-shaped roof. That includes VIP box seats, set right down in front. Behind the covered area are acres of bright green grass, gently sloping toward the stage. There's room there for about 11,500 more spectators to spread out on the lawn. Low-back chairs will be available for rent; no chairs can be brought in.

Lots of parking

Those who use the free shuttle from Auburn SuperMall, where there will be 780 free parking spaces, will get preferred, close-in seating on the grass. The shuttle will travel right to and from the seating area.

The whole site is roomy, easy to negotiate and nicely landscaped. On clear days, you can see Mount Rainier in the distance. Parking for 6,800 cars, which is included in the ticket price, is not far from the entrance. VIP customers get parking right next to the entrance. Any "premier parking" spots remaining on concert nights will be available for $20 on a first-come, first-served basis.

Some 500 persons will be employed at the amphitheater on concert days. The tribe says that the facility will generate $10 million in economic activity this year, and $55 million over five years.

Patrick MacDonald: 206-464-2312 or pmacdonald@seattletimes.com