Summerfest sets its next stage

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Summerfest South End Development-Phase II

If the nine permanent stages dotting Summerfest were the national acts and the Marcus Amphitheater was the headliner, then the south end stage of the grounds was the band still paying its dues.

The M&I Classic Rock stage at the park’s south end was a temporary performance frame that, for decades, went up and down during the festival months. But Summerfest leaders conceded that it never held the best possible use of sound or its lakefront backdrop.

To replace the temporary structure, organizers opted to build the 10,000-person capacity BMO Harris Pavilion. The performance space offers 5,000 fixed seats under a 55,000-square-foot “space frame” roofing and stage structure.

The design offers open sightlines of downtown Milwaukee, Lake Michigan and an inlet lagoon, and includes only a handful of structural poles, none of which block seated stage view.

“It brought things up a notch,” said Bob Gosse, director of design and construction for Milwaukee World Festivals, which organizes the annual Summerfest music gala.

The view was just part of the “iconic” new stage, however. It had to sound good, too.

To shape the permanent structure’s acoustics, designers with Eppstein Uhen Architects Inc. gathered extensive sound data during the M&I stage’s final year of use, said Troy Jacoby, senior design architect.

Pouring over the decibel data was a first for his team, Jacoby said, but the exercise confirmed their choice of location and structure, in addition to appeasing audio limitations from nearby residents and the city.

Along with the challenges, there were what Jacoby called “happy accidents” that helped project crews find a good rhythm. One of the hubs for the German-based space frame material provider happened to be in nearby Menomonee Falls. Also, design and sound containment berms could be sculpted from the abundance of soil that had to remain on site because of the festival grounds’ past life as a Nike missile base.

After seven months of winter construction, the new performance space was ready for almost two weeks of bigger-draw acts, including The B-52s and native Milwaukee son Steve Miller.

The BMO Harris Pavilion caps off Phase II of work at Summerfest’s south end. Phase 1, completed in spring 2011, brought in a new entrance and box office, more bathrooms and way finding lights, and reconfiguration of another stage.

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