News Tue Feb 19 2008

Good Evening.....Hoffman Estates?

Tuesday night, the Hoffman Estates Village Board approved building an outdoor amphitheater called Prairie Creek just west of the Sears Centre Arena and in the shadow of the old Poplar Creek Music Theater, which closed in 1995. Residents near the proposed site have been vocal in their concerns over noise pollution from the amphitheater, but experts examining the design claim that it will comply with the regulations on noise limits. Also, perhaps in part to cater to the suburban residents' musical tastes, the acts to be booked at the venue won't exactly be of the thrash metal ouvre. Jerry Mickelson, a developer and co-founder of JAM Productions, remarked that Prairie Creek will book acts like Jimmy Buffett and James Taylor, who don't crank it to 11, if you know what I mean. Now, if your parents get a little boisterous singing along to "Cheeseburger in Paradise"... well, that's a whole other issue, isn't it? The 9,000-seat Prairie Creek amphitheater is slated to open in May 2009.

- Anne Holub