Ford has taken over the driver’s seat of Colorado Springs’ new outdoor concert and entertainment venue on the city’s north side.

About 40 Ford dealerships in Colorado have paid to acquire the naming rights to the 8,000-seat Sunset Amphitheater, which now will be known as Ford Amphitheater when it kicks off its inaugural concert season in August.

A 10-year, “multi-million dollar” naming rights agreement was announced Tuesday between the Ford dealers and Notes Live, the Colorado Springs entertainment and hospitality company that’s developing the amphitheater. Notes Live has undergone a name change of its own — now calling itself Venu.

Though he declined to give specific financial terms, J.W. Roth, founder, chairman and CEO of Notes Live/Venu said the deal is for at least “five digits,” which indicates the value will total $10 million or more over the length of the agreement.

The newly christened Ford Amphitheater is under construction at the Polaris Pointe commercial and entertainment complex southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard.

It will host its first concerts when pop band OneRepublic takes the stage for three nightly shows over the weekend of Aug. 9-11. Additional concerts announced for the following weeks include the Beach Boys, John Fogerty, Barenaked Ladies, Dierks Bentley, Lauren Daigle, Cage the Elephant and the Steve Miller Band.

“At the end of the day, we were looking for a household name, a brand that America trusts, a brand that sort of says what we are in terms of quality and everything else,” Roth said of his company’s amphitheater and the decision to join forces with the Ford dealers. “It was an easy choice in the end and they couldn’t be better partners.”

The Ford dealerships represent the iconic suburban Detroit-based automaker, which has been selling motor vehicles since Henry Ford founded the company in 1903. The corporate giant now employs 176,000 people in offices, manufacturing plants and research facilities worldwide and is known for its cars, trucks and SUVs.

Kevin Shaughnessy, president and CEO of Colorado Springs-based Phil Long Dealerships, said Ford dealers in the state support various causes — such as professional, college and high-school sports. They saw the amphitheater as another opportunity “to make Colorado a better place to live,” he said.

“Ford is an experienced brand in Colorado,” Shaughnessy said. “It’s a brand that allows people to enjoy the beauty that this state has to offer. We just felt that this (the amphitheater) just added to the experience of Colorado and wanted to be a part of that.”

With 8,000 seats, 92 fire-pit suites and other amenities set against a scenic mountain backdrop, Roth has said the new venue will be “the most luxurious amphitheater ever built” and a rival to Red Rocks and Fiddler’s Green, the Denver-area outdoor music facilities. Roth has estimated the venue’s construction cost at $90 million, which includes a restaurant, bar and event center complex that he said will open several months after the amphitheater debuts.

The Ford naming rights deal was supposed to be announced during a news conference Tuesday evening at the amphitheater, though it was prematurely posted on the venue’s Facebook page earlier in the day. Even so, Roth and Shaughnessy went through with a pre-planned unveiling of the new name — pulling off a white banner that covered an enormous Ford Amphitheater sign and then shaking hands afterward.

In addition to Ford’s naming rights deal, Roth and his company signed a 10-year deal last year with AEG Presents, the global concert promoter, which will book shows and operate the amphitheater.

Naming rights deals have become common over the last several decades as corporate sponsors pay to have their names placed on baseball and football stadiums, municipal arenas and concert and music halls, among other venues and facilities.

In general, for the owner and operator of a venue, the biggest benefit of a naming rights deal is financial, said Steve Smith, an attorney and managing partner of the Colorado Springs office of the global law firm of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and who focuses on sports law — including naming rights.

A naming rights deal — an agreement to pay contractually obligated income — creates a revenue stream over many years that a venue’s developer/owner can use as collateral on financing to build the venue, Smith said. At the same time, “if the venue is completely paid for, then the revenue goes to the bottom line each year,” he said.

The venue also can benefit from being associated with a popular brand, Smith said. And, if the naming rights partner is in a business whose products might be used by the venue’s owner/operator, that could be another benefit, he said.

“For example, if the (naming rights) partner is a ticketing company, that can also benefit the owner/operator through reduced fees for the services being provided,” Smith said.

For the entity that buys the naming rights, the main value is marketing and exposure, he said.

“What happens now is that every time, instead of saying Sunset Amphitheater, it will be (Ford) amphitheater,” Smith said. “Every time that’s stated, and any impression you get from that has marketing value. So, for example, anytime somebody goes to an event there … when it’s sold out, you have 8,000 people who are seeing that name multiple times. They see it on their ticket. They see it as they walk in. Probably public announcements. Everything like that. That’s quite a few impressions there.”

The Ford Amphitheater name also will show up in advertisements and news stories, Smith said. Motorists who drive by the venue along Interstate 25 or near it on Voyager Parkway will see Ford’s name on signs.

“The goal of the sponsor is, people associate the good will with the amphitheater,” Smith said. “I went there, I had a great time, I love it. And I see this name that’s associated with it, so I have a good feeling associated with that sponsor. And also, it’s just straight advertising. You get so many people seeing your name, that has a lot of value.”

Roth announced plans for the amphitheater in early 2022. It was approved by the Colorado Springs City Council in January 2023, though it was opposed by several nearby homeowners and north-side residents who say they fear parking in their neighborhoods by concert-goers, clogged traffic on main roadways in the area on show nights and, above all, unwanted noise drifting into their homes and backyards.