City leaders in Shelbyville say a new concert amphitheater in a park west of the intersection of Intersection 74 and State Road 9 will boost economic development.
A ceremonial groundbreaking is scheduled Wednesday afternoon for the Blue River Memorial Park Amphitheater, a $14 million project featuring a permanent stage to replace a portable stage that’s been used for the city’s “Music in the Park” concert series.
A covered stage will face an open-air lawn with no fixed seating and a capacity of 3,000 attendees. The Blue River Memorial Park Amphitheater’s format is similar to Franklin’s DriveHubler.com Amphitheater in Youngs Creek Park that debuted in 2022 and Fishers’ Nickel Plate District Amphitheater that debuted in 2012.
The Shelbyville venue is expected to host its first performances in 2027.
“We’re trying to put more arts and culture into our economic development plan because it’s about quality of life,” Mayor Scott Furgeson said. “Every time we do something better, I believe we have a better chance of attracting people outside of our community to live here.”
Furgeson said the amphitheater represents a pivot from Shelbyville’s earlier plan for an indoor sports complex, a project that was shelved in 2024. When the city discontinued that pursuit, more than $2 million in Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative funds originally committed to the sports complex were split between the amphitheater and a facility for the Shelby County Players theater group.
According to a report in The Shelbyville News, the city struggled to meet deadline commitments in partnership with a Massachusetts-based company enlisted to build and operate the sports complex.
The 186-acre Blue River Memorial Park is home to a cross country running course, softball fields and a splash pad, as well as the “Music in the Park” series each summer.
In 2025, the free concert series attracted attendees with lawn chairs and blankets to check out performances by tribute acts celebrating the music of Metallica, Bon Jovi and Bob Seger. The lineup also included Matt Mason, a Fairland native who won the 2011 talent search “CMT’s Next Superstar,” and a band performing yacht rock favorites.
Furgeson said he hopes the Blue River Memorial Park Amphitheater will host at least two concerts per month when weather permits.
“We do five events now,” he said. “We need to do more and do better.”
A city arts commission, expected to be in place in 2026, will be tasked with scheduling artists for the amphitheater.
Furgeson served as Shelbyville’s mayor from 2004 to 2011, and he was elected to return to the role in 2023.
During his first tenure, Furgeson led an attempt to lure Noblesville’s Ruoff Music Center to relocate to Shelbyville.
“We worked hard on trying to recruit them,” Furgeson said. “I don’t know if they actually thought about leaving … but it would have been a great boon for us. We’re centrally located. Our biggest advantage is that Cincinnati is not far.”
Shelbyville is 32 miles southeast of downtown Indianapolis and 80 miles northwest of Cincinnati.
Earlier this month, IBJ reported that residential construction in Shelbyville is on the rise thanks to lower land costs and growing infrastructure.
Fishers-based Cornerstone P.D.S. and Indianapolis-based StudioAxis designed the amphitheater.
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