Coney Island “Coney Island. I will never get over it. Give me back my pool. I also miss Hot Summer Nights, the summer season of musicals that used to be at CCM. Broadway calibre performers and productions that I guess are just gone now?” -u/real_actual_tiger “Dude those diving boards had so much spring. I remember this dude that used to absolutely dominate one of those. He’d do triple flips and stuff. I remember he had his chest hair shaved into the Tri force. One of my favorite NPCs from childhood.” -u/ChunkDunkleman Photo: facebook.com/coneyislandpark

Coney Island and Sunlite Pool are slated to close permanently following the last night of its Nights of Lights holiday event, Sunday, Dec. 31.

Coney Island has been open since 1886, with Sunlite Pool added in 1925. The park announced Thursday that it has been sold to Music & Event Management Inc. (MEMI), a subsidiary of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra that also operates the park’s neighbor Riverbend Music Center, as well as Andrew J Brady Music Center and Taft Theatre downtown.

With MEMI at the helm, Coney Island will be turned into a music venue.

“We have been proud to provide a place where so many wonderful memories were created for families. We thank the millions of patrons and employees from Cincinnati and surrounding neighborhoods. You made this a special place for all of us. But the time has come for this historic destination to offer new and different options for entertainment-seekers looking for fun and unique experiences,” the park said in a press release. “While this was a difficult decision, we have the utmost confidence that MEMI and the CSO will bring new excitement to one of Greater Cincinnati’s most treasured locations,” the park said in a press release.

In a separate press release, MEMI said the $118-million music venue will be state-of-the-art and a “first of its kind.” CSO president and CEO Jonathan Martin and MEMI CEO Mike Smith said the organization is shooting for the top of the charts with the venue, focusing on turning it into “the nation’s best amphitheater” and a must-play destination for the music industry’s top artists.

A rendering of the new music venue replacing Coney Island. Photo: Provided by MEMI

“We are building a new home for live music events that will offer a mesmerizing fusion of cutting-edge technology and architectural significance,” Martin said in the release. “This new development will usher in the future of the music industry, and we are proud to be leading the next step in the same way Riverbend changed the face of live music in our community 40 years ago when it opened. Now, with CSO’s historic success with Riverbend and PNC Pavilion, we are creating an expanded music, arts and entertainment campus for the region to drive artistic excellence and innovation as well as the local economy.”

In addition to cutting-edge performance and entertainment technology, MEMI says the venue will also feature high-quality guest amenities, an architecturally stunning facility and an adaptable seating arrangement.

The yet-to-be-named venue’s preliminary design is in progress, with many key elements undecided.

“Cincinnati’s new music, arts and entertainment campus will bring us into an exciting future while acknowledging our proud history,” Smith said in the release. “We are considering how to incorporate contemporarily appropriate and historically significant acknowledgments to the history of the location.”

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This article appears in Dec 13-26, 2023.

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Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...