Tinley Park music theater seeks to expand sales area
The concessions operator for Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in Tinley Park is seeking village approval to broaden liquor sales to include the lawn seating area.
Legends Hospitality is proposing to erect stands to sell alcohol at the top of the inclined grass area, but wouldn’t have roving alcohol vendors in the lawn area, according to the company.
No liquor sales are allowed in the lawn area, which has seating for about 17,000 people, and concertgoers purchase drinks at stands in the pavilion area.
Company representatives at a recent village board committee meeting said that expanding sales to the lawn area would be more convenient for customers and hopefully relieving crowding at the concession area where liquor is now sold.
Legends runs concessions for theater operator Live Nation, and lawn liquor sales are allowed at other Live Nation venues, such as Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island in Chicago and Alpine Valley Music Theatre across the Wisconsin border, according to Legends.
Legends would put up what were described as semi-permanent tent structures on concrete pads. Along with a full range of alcoholic drinks, the stands would also sell items such as bottled water and some pre-packaged food, according to the company.
Although the proposal would eventually go to the full board for a vote, two trustees had differing opinions on expanded sales after hearing Legends’ pitch.
Trustee Cynthia Berg said she supported the idea and believed Tinley Park was losing concerts to other Chicago-area venues, while trustee Michael Pannitto said he thought allowing the sales would cause “more headaches than it’s worth.”
“I can see somebody getting hurt,” he said, noting that he had heard that “it gets kind of crazy out there” in the lawn seats.
“I get it. You want your patrons to be happy and have convenience,” the trustee said, adding that making it more convenient to buy alcohol “means (patrons are) going to drink more.”
Pannitto said the theater “has been there for 20 years and seems to be doing OK,” suggesting that the current ban on liquor sales in the lawn area hasn’t hurt the business.
The music theater, 19100 Ridgeland Ave., opened in 1990 as the World Music Theatre. Live Nation sold the naming rights to Hollywood Casino about three years ago.
Village Attorney Patrick Connelly said the plan, if lawn sales are approved, is to monitor them during the concert season to determine how it is working out.
In other liquor-related matters, Berg and Pannitto recommended that the board approve a class A liquor license for 350 Brewing, 7144 W. 183rd St. The business is seeking the license to offer an expanded menu of drinks, such as ciders, local wines, a bloody mary bar and cocktails, according to the village.
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