OKC Zoo Amphitheater announces new management, 2024 summer lineup coming soon

OKC's Zoo Amphitheatre, 2101 NE 50, has been a mecca for music for more than 90 years, and on Wednesday the venue announced plans to continue that role under new management.

The Zoo Amp will be managed by SaveLive, which currently manages The Criterion, Tower Theatre, Beer City Music Hall and Ponyboy.

The venue will announce the 2024 summer season soon, according to a news release, and the facility is undergoing infrastructure updates before the season begins.

“The Oklahoma City Zoo and SaveLive share a vision and commitment to connecting Oklahomans with superb entertainment in a premier, and iconic venue," said Trevor Leonard, OKC Zoo’s chief operations officer, in a news release.

The Zoo Amphitheatre stage has hosted some of the greatest names in music since it was built in 1933, including Marvin Gaye, Willie Nelson, Chicago and ZZ Top, according to Travel Oklahoma.

OKC Zoo Amp has rocky history of changing management hands

But the venue has had a rocky past with management changing hands.

In 2012, the venue's manager was Facilities Management Group, which had overseen the property for a decade, The Oklahoman reported. When that contract expired in December 2012, the Oklahoma City Zoological Trust entered a contract with 3HORSE Productions LLC, which has managed the venue until the present.

That company was incorporated one day before the trust closed the bidding process, which drew sharp criticism of the company's validity. An open records request also showed 3HORSE Productions' ties to Remington Park and its owner, Global Gaming, a Chickasaw Nation subsidiary, which were not disclosed to the public or to several members of the zoological trust before the vote.

Mark Geiger, who was head of the William Morris Endeavor global music division from 2003 to 2020, launched SaveLive in October 2020, when venues were struggling during the pandemic, "to bring scalable services and advantages to independent venue owners and secondary markets," according to a description on the SaveLive website.

SaveLive and Gieger are currently being sued for breach of contract, fraud and misrepresentation by a venue in California called The Alibi, which SaveLive obtained at the same time as its OKC venues, Billboard reports.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Zoo Amp has new management, summer show lineup