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New bridge over Ascend Amphitheater grounds fulfills promise to connect greenway 24/7

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New bridge on the Downtown greenway over Ascend Amphiteater
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With outdoor concert season here, bikers and pedestrians passing by Ascend Amphitheater may notice a tweak to solve an annoyance that had lingered for years.

The problem was that there was no way through the park during shows. Since part of the downtown greenway is technically on the grounds of Ascend, you’d need a ticket to be there. LiveNation, which ran the amphitheater for the past ten years, simply closed that section of the park during events, so pedestrians and bikers had to go all the way around.

Opry Entertainment Group promised to do something about that when they won the bid to run the Amphitheater for the next decade. VP of Design and Construction Shawn Flippen saw a solution: “We came up with the idea, why not reconnect the greenway with a bridge?”

The organization spent $1 million building a new wooden bridge over the land, and it will be open during concerts. If you’re thinking that sounds like a great spot to see a show for free, you’re not wrong, but you will be stopped. Metro owns the land and leases it to Opry, so officers will be patrolling during shows.

Opry also put an additional $12 million into renovating the Ascend grounds. There is a new merch village, permanent seats up front, VIP boxes, and new chair rentals.

Upcoming shows at Ascend:

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music Tagged With: ,

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Justin Barney, Music and Culture Reporter

Hi, I’m Justin. I was born in Milwaukee, WI. I started as an intern at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee and worked my way up to Music Director. There I started a segment called “From the Music Desk” where I interviewed over 500 artists including Thom York, Lizzo, Steve Martin, and Phoebe Bridgers. At 88nine I also got to speak passionately about the music I love on the radio, which is a true gift and I still get to do every day. There I also made a podcast called “Backspin: The Search for Milwaukee’s First Hip-Hop Song” which I enjoyed doing more than anything else I’ve ever done and was acclaimed in The New York Times. Highlight of my life. I love music, I love people and I love a good yarn. At the end of the day my goal is to tell stories that are as good as the ones my dad tells me. I’ll tell em on the radio, in print, or next to you at the corner bar.

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