Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said Friday the city is continuing to work with the owner of the new Ford Amphitheater, who outlined additional noise-mitigation efforts being explored to address concerns of nearby residents — some of whom have complained bitterly about noise from the outdoor venue’s concerts since it opened in August.

The mayor’s office posted a statement Friday afternoon after meeting with City Council President Randy Helms and JW Roth, the founder and CEO of VENU, the Colorado Springs-based entertainment company that developed the north side amphitheater. A presentation given by VENU to Mobolade and Helms was shared with the public by the mayor’s office.

“I believe their efforts to improve are genuine, and I am pleased by their data-based approach, use of expert consultants and actionable plan,” Mobolade said of VENU officials in the statement.

VENU’s presentation said the company assembled a seven-person sound mitigation team that has been studying solutions to noise concerns since the end of September.

According to the presentation, eight physical changes to the venue are being considered to address noise issues. Those possible changes include: a north and south extension of a sound-blocking noise wall that’s part of a restaurant and event center building under construction on the east side of the amphitheater’s seating areas; installation of sound absorption panels to the roofs of amphitheater buildings; and the addition of four solid-surface sound curtains at concourses on the north and south sides of the venue’s stage.

The presentation said VENU is also considering “electro-acoustic” changes to the speaker setup around the stage and potentially reducing the decibel levels and times for concerts during the week.

Helms, who lives in a neighborhood that’s within earshot of the amphitheater, said he was satisfied to see the specific steps being proposed to address the complaints.

“You don’t just jump in and start building stuff, you have to understand where the noise is leaking out of the venue and address those particular areas,” Helms said.

VENU’s presentation also recapped attendance figures for the amphitheater’s initial concert series. The company said more than 100,000 people attended the 20 shows performed during the amphitheater’s two-month run and that ticket were purchased from more than 5,000 ZIP codes.

The mayor’s statement issued Friday will not be the last Colorado Springs hears about the noise concerns at the amphitheater.

Mobolade said results of a third-party study commissioned by the City Council would be released next week, which had measured noise levels in the nearby neighborhoods during the last three concerts of the season.

The city will also hold a neighborhood meeting by year’s end for residents living near the venue.

VENU’s meeting Friday with Mobolade and Helms, and the company’s overview of potential noise-mitigation steps, are the latest developments in the continuing debate over the amphitheater.

The 8,000-seat, open-air venue was proposed in 2022 by Roth and his entertainment company as a luxury, amenity filled facility to be built against a scenic mountain backdrop. He envisioned it would host top-name concert performers while allowing Springs-area music lovers to avoid an hour-plus drive to Red Rocks, Fiddler’s Green and other Denver-area venues for their entertainment.

The amphitheater received overwhelming City Council approval in January 2023, though the approval came over the objections of some residents in nearby neighborhoods who said they worried about potential traffic and parking problems.

Most of all, those residents said they feared that unwanted concert noise would fill their homes and backyards and harm their property values and quality of life. A homeowner and a neighborhood group who sued VENU and the city on the grounds the amphitheater would violate a state noise pollution law have lost two rounds in court.

Originally called the Sunset Amphitheater, VENU sold the naming rights last summer to a group of about 40 Ford dealers in Colorado, and it was rebranded as the Ford Amphitheater. It opened Aug. 9 southwest of North Gate Boulevard and Voyager Parkway in Polaris Pointe, a 200-acre mixed-use development.

In its two-plus months, the amphitheater has hosted a mix of artists, including pop band OneRepublic, rock legends the Beach Boys, John Fogerty and the Steve Miller Band, contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle, country music star Dierks Bentley and, last week, Godsmack, a hard rock and heavy metal group.

Thousands of concertgoers and community leaders have lauded the amphitheater as an exciting new entertainment venue for the Pikes Peak region and praised its variety of shows, amenities such as cozy fire-pit suites and its scenic outdoor setting, among other positives.

But the amphitheater also generated hundreds of complaints from homeowners — some 3 to 5 miles away — who’ve said their fears about unwanted and excessive noise have come true; peaceful evenings have been shattered by bass thumping music that even penetrates their closed doors and windows, some have said. They also criticized city officials for issuing a noise-hardship permit that allowed the amphitheater to exceed city noise limits.

Amphitheater critics and supporters have filled City Council chambers on multiple occasions to voice their opinions. VENU’s ownership, meanwhile, has said its sound readings after the first several concerts showed no violation of allowable city noise levels — initial findings that city officials echoed.