SHOW AFTER SHOW: DTE Energy Music Theatre, with a capacity of about 15,000, is among the country’s busiest amphitheaters. (Chris Schwegler) Tom Wilson is most closely identified with developing two arenas in Greater Detroit. The sports and entertainment executive’s vision for revitalizing the market’s underperforming amphitheater sometimes gets forgotten among his accomplishments. In November 1990, Palace Sports & Entertainment acquired Pine Knob Music Theatre, now DTE Energy Music Theatre, for roughly $10 million. The Nederlander Organization owned and operated the facility, which opened on June 25, 1972, with a matinee performance by TV heartthrob David Cassidy. Over time, though, it became run-down and was booking fewer than 20 shows over the summer months in the 1980s, Wilson said. Starting in 1991, after Palace Sports took over the shed, Pine Knob was packed with 80 concerts annually.  Some acts such as classic rocker Eddie Money became an annual draw at the… Continue Reading Tom Wilson brought back an amphitheater — and the amphitheater business

To access this content you must be a subscriber and logged in with your subscriber credentials here. To subscribe to VenuesNow, click here for more information or here for combo subscriptions including sister-publication Pollstar.