Virginia Beach’s newest concert hall brings back a piece of the city’s history.
The Dome will open May 4 with a Three Dog Night concert at the Oceanfront. Tickets are on sale now.
Part of the Atlantic Park development going up on the original Dome site at 19th Street and Pacific Avenue, it’s the first element of the sprawling, Pharell Williams-backed event venue and surf lagoon that will be open to the public.
The current structure doesn’t have a literal dome, but the name is a nod to the iconic Alan B. Shepard Convention Center which opened in 1958. The dome-shaped concert hall hosted acts such as Louis Armstrong, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix. Before it closed in 1993, it helped solidify the Oceanfront’s draw as a tourism and entertainment destination.
Other design elements capture the spirit of Virginia Beach, said Tabatha Webster, a Live Nation general manager at the Dome and Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater.
“Welcome to the new, reimagined Dome,” Webster said during a Thursday preview. She stood on the stage surrounded by ongoing construction projects. Power tools buzzed and boom lifts beeped as they stretched to the ceiling.
“I’ve lived here my entire life,” she said, “so the Dome resurrected is a long time coming.”
Giant hangar doors at the back of the auditorium allude to the area’s military presence, referencing aircraft hangars. They can open to the grounds outside, transforming the 3,500-person capacity concert hall into an amphitheater that accommodates 5,000.
With the doors closed, seats can be added or taken away in front of the stage to scale the venue between intimate comedy shows and cavernous concerts.
That fluidity of the space will attract acts of varying sizes and tours that may have skipped Virginia Beach, Webster said. The lobby and exterior are characterized by curved lines and flowing shapes to emphasize the building’s fluidity and evoke the movement of the ocean just blocks away.
Entertainment will be operated by Live Nation and Oak View Group. The venue already has acts scheduled May through September, including Melissa Etheridge, Pat Benatar and Ziggy Marley. The venue will host 100 shows a year and “have something for everyone,” Webster said.
Anyone who still has a Dome ticket stub from 1993 or before can get a comp ticket to the Dome’s opening show, Webster said.
Atlantic Park originated in 2018 when international celebrity and Virginia Beach native Williams backed the project, then known as “The Wave.”
The public-private partnership between Virginia Beach, Williams and realty and investment groups is costing the city $152 million. City leaders expect returns on investment in revenue from concerts and parking decks, increased tourism and higher area property values.
The project costs around $350 million.
Atlantic Park includes a 2.7-acre surf lagoon that can generate 1,000 waves per hour, enabling experienced surfers and beginners to ride waves in a controlled environment. The Wavegarden Cove will have a “beach,” surf lodges, a community lounge and private pool deck.
It will also have 309 apartment units, with east-facing units overlooking the ocean and west-facing units providing a view for outdoor Dome concerts. When the hangar doors are closed, the venue is fully soundproof.
There will also be 100,000 square feet of retail space for restaurants and shops, 10,000 square feet of office space and 1,469 parking spaces across two parking decks.
