Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a disclosure about the connection between The Gazette and AEG Presents.

Just after 8 a.m. local time on the eve of Thanksgiving, as the rest of the city was starting work for the day, entrepreneur JW Roth and about 100 others were celebrating.

VENU, Roth’s Colorado Springs-based local entertainment and hospitality company formerly known as Notes Live, went public on the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning.

Meet the man behind Colorado Springs' new luxury amphitheater, set to open next month

The company, which developed the 8,000-seat outdoor Ford Amphitheater on the north side of the city, began offering 1.2 million shares of its common stock for an initial offering of $10 per share, for gross proceeds of about $12 million. The offering is expected to close Friday.

From VENU’s corporate headquarters in Briargate, the crowd of company investors, employees, friends and family cheered for its debut on the world’s largest stock exchange. Among balloon garlands, mood lighting, an assortment of breakfast foods and beverages, and a DJ spinning classic rock favorites, the crowd applauded Roth as video footage of VENU’s opening from New York played on televisions throughout the room.  

[inline_image src=”aHR0cHM6Ly9ibG94aW1hZ2VzLm5ld3lvcmsxLnZpcC50b3dubmV3cy5jb20vZ2F6ZXR0ZS5jb20vY29udGVudC90bmNtcy9hc3NldHMvdjMvZWRpdG9yaWFsLzkvODAvOTgwODA2ZTQtYWNmNC0xMWVmLThmNzQtYjMxMjgwN2Y5NmMzLzY3NDc3MGRmNmU4ZTcuaW1hZ2UuanBn” alt=”VkVOVSBmb3VuZGVyLCBjaGFpcm1hbiBhbmQgQ0VPIEpXIFJvdGggd2VsY29tZXMgY29tcGFueSBpbnZlc3RvcnMsIGVtcGxveWVlcywgZmFtaWx5IGFuZCBmcmllbmRzIHRvIGEgbW9ybmluZyBwYXJ0eSBhdCB0aGUgY29tcGFueSdzIGhlYWRxdWFydGVycyBpbiBCcmlhcmdhdGUgaW4gQ29sb3JhZG8gU3ByaW5ncyBvbiBXZWRuZXNkYXksIE5vdi4gMjcsIDIwMjQuIFRoZSBjcm93ZCBvZiBhYm91dCAxMDAgcGVvcGxlIGNlbGVicmF0ZWQgdGhlIC4uLg==” caption=”VkVOVSBmb3VuZGVyLCBjaGFpcm1hbiBhbmQgQ0VPIEpXIFJvdGggd2VsY29tZXMgY29tcGFueSBpbnZlc3RvcnMsIGVtcGxveWVlcywgZmFtaWx5IGFuZCBmcmllbmRzIHRvIGEgbW9ybmluZyBwYXJ0eSBhdCB0aGUgY29tcGFueeKAmXMgaGVhZHF1YXJ0ZXJzIGluIEJyaWFyZ2F0ZSBpbiBDb2xvcmFkbyBTcHJpbmdzIG9uIFdlZG5lc2RheS4gVGhlIGNyb3dkIG9mIGFib3V0IDEwMCBwZW9wbGUgY2VsZWJyYXRlZCB0aGUgY29tcGFueeKAmXMgZGVidXQgb24gdGhlIE5ldyBZb3JrIFN0b2NrIEV4Y2hhbmdlLg==” credit=”cGhvdG9zIGNvdXJ0ZXN5IG9mIFZFTlU=”]

At the market’s close — 2 p.m. Mountain Time — VENU’s shares were selling at $10.12 each, with a daily range between $10 to $10.80, data on Stock Analysis showed. The company’s total net worth was $387.39 million, and its enterprise value $391.91 million. The company’s stock held by its shareholders totaled 38.28 million shares.

“You always think you know what (your company is) worth, but when the public tells you what it’s worth, it’s a whole different experience,” Roth told The Gazette, adding that hundreds of people have invested in his company since he founded it in 2017. He is also VENU’s chairman and CEO.

“When somebody writes a check and gives you money, they trust you. That’s a heavy responsibility. Today — not that the responsibility is gone in any way — but today is a reward for all of those people who invested. … I would say 30% of our shareholders became millionaires today. Or, at least, their value went up by over $1 million,” he said.

New noise mitigation steps being considered at Ford Amphitheater

Colorado Springs homeowners lose another round in court to challenge Ford Amphitheater

Roth’s goal when he opened VENU was to be “fan-founded and fan-owned,” so much so he included the slogan in the opening words of the company’s mission statement. 

“We are very excited to be public. That was the goal, to be able to have a company that fans could own,” he said.

Randy Carruthers, whom Roth said was his “first and largest investor,” said he believed in Roth’s success from the start.

Since late 2016, Carruthers has invested millions of dollars in multiple ventures with Roth, after the two met at an investment meeting Roth held in Denver for a new restaurant concept.

[inline_image src=”aHR0cHM6Ly9ibG94aW1hZ2VzLm5ld3lvcmsxLnZpcC50b3dubmV3cy5jb20vZ2F6ZXR0ZS5jb20vY29udGVudC90bmNtcy9hc3NldHMvdjMvZWRpdG9yaWFsLzkvZmYvOWZmYTYzNTYtYWNmNC0xMWVmLTk0NzAtMjdkOWI2OGY3NDhjLzY3NDc3MGVjYmY3NTIuaW1hZ2UuanBnP3Jlc2l6ZT0xMzk2JTJDNzg5″ alt=”QSBjcm93ZCBvZiBWRU5VIGludmVzdG9ycywgZW1wbG95ZWVzLCBmYW1pbHkgYW5kIGZyaWVuZHMgbGlzdGVuIHRvIGEgd2VsY29tZSBieSBjb21wYW55IGZvdW5kZXIsIGNoYWlybWFuIGFuZCBDRU8gSlcgUm90aCBpbiBDb2xvcmFkbyBTcHJpbmdzIG9uIFdlZG5lc2RheSwgTm92LiAyNywgMjAyNC4gVkVOVSBkZWJ1dGVkIG9uIHRoZSBOZXcgWW9yayBTdG9jayBFeGNoYW5nZSB0aGF0IG1vcm5pbmcu” caption=”QSBjcm93ZCBvZiBWRU5VIGludmVzdG9ycywgZW1wbG95ZWVzLCBmYW1pbHkgYW5kIGZyaWVuZHMgbGlzdGVuIHRvIGEgd2VsY29tZSBieSBjb21wYW55IGZvdW5kZXIsIGNoYWlybWFuIGFuZCBDRU8gSlcgUm90aCBpbiBDb2xvcmFkbyBTcHJpbmdzIG9uIFdlZG5lc2RheSwgTm92LiAyNywgMjAyNC4gVkVOVSBkZWJ1dGVkIG9uIHRoZSBOZXcgWW9yayBTdG9jayBFeGNoYW5nZSB0aGF0IG1vcm5pbmcu” credit=”UGhvdG8gY291cnRlc3kgb2YgVkVOVQ==”]

“We just clicked,” Carruthers said of Roth. “I told him I wasn’t investing in a restaurant, but I said, ‘I’m investing in you.'” 

A news release from VENU early Tuesday evening said the company plans to use the net proceeds from its initial stock sales, after offering expenses and underwriting discounts, to help expand business operations, further develop company service, fund business promotion activities, and for capital and corporate purposes. This includes general market expansion and the exploration of opening new restaurant, entertainment and music venues, the release said.

VENU’s Ford Amphitheater opened to a sold-out crowd in August at Polaris Pointe, southwest of North Gate Boulevard and Voyager Parkway. It was initially called the Sunset Amphitheater, before naming rights were sold to about 40 Ford dealerships in Colorado. In 2023, Roth and his company signed a 10-year deal with global concert promoter AEG Presents, which books shows and operates the amphitheater.

AEG Presents is part of the larger Anschutz Entertainment Group or AEG, a worldwide entertainment powerhouse based in Los Angeles. AEG is controlled by the Denver-based Anschutz Corp., whose Clarity Media Group owns The Gazette.

Ford Amphitheater goes Grammy as 2025 concert season begins to take shape

Late this summer, VENU agreed to implement additional sound measures at Ford Amphitheater to address noise levels some residents living in the surrounding area described as excessive.

The company is considering making eight physical changes to address noise. Among them is a north and south extension of a sound-blocking noise wall that is part of a restaurant and event center building under construction on the amphitheater’s east side seating area. Officials are 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.

Roth is also developing other Sunset amphitheaters in Oklahoma and Texas, with plans to reach 10 major markets by 2026.

The McKinney City Council in Texas on Nov. 19 approved a site plan for a flagship 20,000-seat Sunset Amphitheater, VENU’s largest site, on 46 acres there. VENU expects to break ground on the project in early 2025 and open in 2026. McKinney is about 32 miles north of Dallas.

The company is also moving forward with plans to build a 12,500-seat outdoor amphitheater in northeast El Paso, Texas, where the Cohen Stadium once stood. It is slated to open in 2026.

In early October, the city of Broken Arrow in Tulsa and Wagoner counties in Oklahoma held a groundbreaking ceremony for its local 12,500-seat amphitheater project. It is expected to open in 2025.

Roth said Wednesday he is continuing to work with municipalities in the Oklahoma City market to build an amphitheater there after the Oklahoma City City Council in April rejected a zoning request for the proposed venue.

Plans for another amphitheater in Murfreesboro, Tenn., fell through in early July. VENU told the city it couldn’t start the project because interest rates were higher than they were when the parties signed a 2022 development agreement, Nashville, Tenn.-based TV news station WKRN reported. 

Roth’s company asked to modify the agreement to increase theater capacity from 4,500 seats to 6,500 seats, as well as other changes. The Murfreesboro City Council denied the requests, according to WKRN.

Chloe Hoeft, VENU’s vice president of relations and philanthropy, said Wednesday the company does not have immediate plans to build an amphitheater location in Tennessee, but “it’s certainly not off the table.”

“We’re always open to exploring new opportunities and welcome the conversation,” she said.

Boot Barn Hall to get new name, partners after 5-year run

Ford Amphitheater is within walking distance of VENU’s newly rebranded Phil Long Music Hall at Bourbon Brothers in Colorado Springs. The midsize live music venue formerly known as Boot Barn Hall at Bourbon Brothers opened in 2019 next to the Bourbon Brothers Smokehouse & Tavern restaurant, also owned by VENU, as part of an entertainment complex in Polaris Pointe.

VENU owns a Bourbon Brothers and an adjacent Boot Barn Hall in Gainesville, Ga., about an hour’s drive northeast of Atlanta.