WORK IN PROGRESS: A rendering is shown of the new 4,250-capacity venue for Portland, expected to open in early 2026. (Courtesy Works Progress Architecture)
Completion expected in the first quarter of 2026.
Portland-based independent concert promoter Monqui Presents has partnered with AEG Presents to develop and operate a new 4,250-capacity venue in the Rose City.
“We have a shared vision on how it should look and what we want the artist experience and customer experience to be,” said Mike Quinn, founder of Monqui Presents. “I’ve been working with Don (Strasburg) in the (AEG Presents) Denver office for nine or 10 years trying to find a spot that we could co-venture.”
The project is in the design phase, with developers drilling down on the land use design process and working toward building permits. The venue is intended to accommodate a range of music. The construction timeline has it completed in the first quarter of 2026.
Situated in Portland’s burgeoning Lloyd Entertainment District, venue plans include flexible seating and a movable stage to provide a variety of event configurations. The 68,000-square-foot space in the footprint of a former department store has access to light rail, streetcar lines and the recently completed bike and pedestrian bridge. The budget for the project was not released.
Works Progress Architecture, a Portland-based firm with experience in mixed-use, retail and entertainment projects including the award-winning Mission Ballroom in Denver, is designing the new venue.
The project layers into the ongoing master plan for the district. The venue project falls under the city’s CX zoning, which helps this type of development without requiring special use permits or zoning changes.
FLEX: The venue would offer flexible capacity from 2,000 to 4,250 people. (Courtesy Works Progress Architecture)
“It doesn’t require conditional use or traffic study. It’s set up for mass gathering like we are doing,” explained Quinn. “There are only a few spots in town that have that coveted zoning.”
Quinn believes offering a flexible capacity from 2,000 to 4,250 patrons is a sweet spot for the city, which is home to 20,500-capacity NBA arena Moda Center that can also be configured as a 5,500-seat theater, as well as other popular theaters with capacities between 1,500 and 2,900.
“There’s no venue this size right now,” said Quinn, who founded Monqui in 1983. “It’s kind of a sweet spot. It will mean a lot for the district in particular. It will revitalize that area. We’ve been working on it a long time and it feels really great to finally get to this point. Everybody is psyched and we think we have a really great site.”
