Menifee's Central Park Amphitheater Has a Concert Plan. It's Still Waiting on Its Roof.

How many parts are still missing from the stage in downtown Menifee? About 38. At an April 2026 town hall, Planning Commissioner Michael Knighten asked Public Works Director Nick Fidler how many pieces were being made for the Central Park amphitheater. Fidler answered "About 38." Knighten asked where they were, and Fidler said "In Switzerland."

Six months later the city has taken its next step on the venue, and that step is about the shows, not the structure. On Thursday, October 1, Menifee's Parks, Recreation and Trails Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve an outside company to produce ticketed events there. The event plan for the amphitheater is now further along than the building, and that order of events shapes everything about when the first concert can happen.

The Commission Picked a Producer on Thursday

The proposed agreement is with Brahma Media Group. It covers four to six large, ticketed events a year: four summer concerts and two larger festivals. Brahma describes itself as a Lancaster-based company that provides live sound, lighting and video for events in California and beyond. The city issued a request for proposals last December, got two responses and chose Brahma as the most qualified.

Under the deal, Brahma would book the entertainment and run staging, audio, lighting, ticketing, vendors, food and beverage, sponsorships, marketing and event staff. The city would keep maintaining the amphitheater and would help with permits, public safety, electrical needs and marketing.

At the same meeting, city staff said the amphitheater "remains under construction" with "no definitive completion date." The city is still aiming for the end of the calendar year. As of today, that target is less than three months away. The agreement goes to the City Council next, and the October 2 report gives no date for that vote.

Eight Years of Estimates

The site already looks like a stage because part of it has existed for years. A concrete stage slab was poured in 2018, when the stage and a future shade cover were estimated at $100,000. In 2019, council members decided to pursue a "more robust" structure, and the cost estimates have climbed with each new contract since.

The $6.6 million figure is from June 2025, so it isn't a final total. In May 2026 the council approved another $50,000 for the project's eighth change order. That money goes to Southstar Engineering and Consulting, Inc. for labor compliance and construction document management, and it passed 4-1. The construction contract is a separate, smaller number. The council awarded it to Optima RPM on December 6, 2023, at a not-to-exceed $5,133,426.31 for 260 working days, and it stood at $5,391,799.11 after change orders by April 2025. The two figures measure different scopes, which is why they don't match.

Design work started earlier still. In June 2021, Valley News reported that the council had approved a $445,103 design-services agreement by a 4-1 vote for a covered amphitheater in the park near the future City Hall.

Why Wood From Switzerland Sets the Calendar

The roof uses an unusual design built from curved glue-laminated wood beams. Every delay since 2025 traces back to those beams.

The first schedule slipped because the beams couldn't be made until the structure under them was finished. In April 2025, city staff asked for a 71-working-day extension that moved scheduled completion from February 19 to June 2, 2025. They explained that the curved beams could only be fabricated from exact field measurements, which had to wait until the pillars and storage walls were built.

Then the supplier changed. City communications director Phil Southard said Optima brought in Blumer-Lehmann in summer 2025, after the original beam maker, Tridome, couldn't show that its beams would meet the project's structural integrity standards. According to Southard, the new manufacturer plus a change in construction sequencing moved completion to the end of 2026. He said the extra time covers these steps:

1. Design and engineering of the beams
2. Sourcing of the wood
3. Construction
4. Load testing
5. Transportation
6. Installation

In May 2026, the city said the beams' 3D modeling had been approved, pending calculations. Blumer-Lehmann was finalizing engineering calculations with a California licensed structural engineer to confirm the connections meet California codes, and Southard said, "We expect the manufacturing process to begin in the next few weeks." At the same council meeting, Mayor Ricky Estrada asked when crews had last worked on the site. Fidler answered "Last fall," and said the new Southstar money would cover inspections "when work resumes."

That May update is the most recent public word on the beams. Coverage through early October doesn't confirm that they have been manufactured, shipped or delivered, or that crews are back on site. The October 2 report repeats the year-end target without giving a firm date. In practice, the six-step list is the countdown. The ticketed events can only start after the last step, installation, is done.

What the Deal Asks of the Park

The Brahma agreement is mainly a deal about how ticket money gets split, but it also says a lot about what a concert night at Central Park would look like. Here are the terms the commission reviewed:

• Revenue order: Event revenue pays the applicable expenses first. Whatever net revenue is left splits 90 percent to Brahma Media Group and 10 percent to the city.
• Who proposed the split: City staff said the 90-10 split came from Brahma. The city doesn't have an estimate yet of how much it could earn.
• Parking: Staff estimated that nearby lots could handle about 2,500 people at a time. That count includes a future City Hall parking lot and possible shared parking at the Menifee Justice Center. Shuttles could be added if needed.
• Term: The agreement would run through June 30, 2027, with up to four more one-year extensions.

Commissioners asked about the split. "I just want to make sure that 10 percent covers all of the regular maintenance and everything else," Commissioner Justin Metoyer said.

The term dates link the contract to the construction schedule. The first term ends June 30, 2027, so the only summer it fully covers is summer 2027. If the roof is done around the end of this year, the four summer concerts would come next summer. If the beams slip further, the first term could run out before its summer shows ever happen, and the extension options would take over.

The parking figure depends on a building that doesn't exist yet. Today, Menifee City Hall is at 29844 Haun Road. The City Hall lot that staff counted for concert parking is the planned one next to Central Park.

The ticketed events wouldn't be the only use. City staff have described the finished venue as a place for city events, concerts and art exhibitions, giving local musical groups, artists and performers a space to use. The city's 2020–25 capital plan also pictured the amphitheater area as a future home for Menifee Moonlight Markets and other key events. For now, the markets run elsewhere. The 2026 Moonlight Market dates were set for Underwood Park on Friday, June 12, and Centennial Park on Friday, July 10. The city's Fall Festival is on October 17 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Mt. San Jacinto College, 28237 La Piedra Rd., with vendor booths, live entertainment, costume contests and the Sun City Cruizers' Trunk-or-Treat.

Central Park Already Has a Night on the Calendar

None of this means Central Park sits empty. The Menifee Trading Post Night Market returns to Central Park, 30268 Civic Plaza Dr., on Friday, October 23, from 5 to 9 p.m. The city lists food and drinks, entertainment, local vendors and a beer garden, and calls the event family- and pet-friendly. The same market was held at Central Park on June 26.

So the park already hosts evening events, with the bare frame standing nearby. Finishing the amphitheater would add a covered stage and a season of ticketed concerts and festivals. The next two decisions are a City Council vote on the Brahma agreement, with no date given yet, and a delivery from Switzerland, which also has no date. On October 23, the night market starts at 5 p.m.

Big projects like this one are part of how a neighborhood's value takes shape. Our team follows them closely, from council agendas to construction schedules, so we can tell sellers what's coming near their home and what isn't settled yet. If you live near downtown Menifee and want to know how Central Park's next few years could affect your home's value, Meeker Realty Group can give you a local read. Get your free home valuation.