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There was a moment, before the coronavirus pandemic hit, when some owners of empty or underperforming spaces in Portland struck upon a common solution.

Live events, particularly concerts, would cure what ailed commercial landlords. Where retail was weak, events would prove strong. Where once had been a Nordstrom 鈥� a pillar of the increasingly musty anchor-store concept 鈥� there would soon be a Live Nation concert venue.

That was the driving idea at the Lloyd Center mall. And in the South Waterfront, plans for a mixed-use district at Zidell Yards had given way to a semi-temporary events venue with capacity for 10,000 attendees.

The venues would prove a keystone to thriving, walkable entertainment districts. 91视频 would draw foot traffic. While there, attendees surely would spend money at adjacent retail shops, restaurants and bars.

At the time, concert venues were hot 鈥� a JLL report in May 2019 noted a burst of facility renovations, including a $56 million auditorium upgrade in Philadelphia and a $35 million amphitheater update in Atlanta.

Remember when we used to go to concerts?

That concept collapsed sometime around March 11, when the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic, an NBA player tested positive for COVID-19, stock indexes fell precipitously and actor Tom Hanks announced on Instagram that he had contracted the virus.

Suddenly crowds, particularly indoors, seemed like a terrible idea.

That left two notable Portland developments in the lurch.

The Zidell project has not moved forward since a Design Commission hearing in October. The project appears to be on pause. Tom Henneberry, chief operating officer for ZRZ Realty, declined to comment, and referred questions to Live Nation, which did not respond to a request for comment.

Hacker was designing the venue.

鈥淲e are currently not engaged in work on this project,鈥� Audrey Alverson, the architecture firm’s marketing director, stated in an email.

At the Lloyd Center, Cypress Equities had inked Live Nation to a long-term lease in 2018 to build a concert venue. At the time, the mall’s manager said the venue could open in 2020.

Cypress Equities’ plans for the venue centered on a 4,000-seat theater and multiple secondary venues in the former Nordstrom space on the mall’s west end.

Cypress Equities, based in Dallas, did not respond to a request for comment. Live Nation Entertainment also did not respond to a request for comment. Live Nation, based in Beverly Hills, California, is a publicly traded company that earned $11.5 billion in revenue in 2019.

At the South Waterfront, the Live Nation amphitheater would connect from the western base of Tilikum Crossing. Plans submitted to the Bureau of Development Services described a 10,000-seat amphitheater featuring a performance stage, raised seating, a large plaza, trailers and other supporting structures, and a perimeter fence. The venue was 鈥渋ntended to occupy the site for seven years with the possibility of an extension.鈥�

Design commissioners told the project team that the concert venue could improve its response to the surrounding area, particularly when the venue is not being used.

鈥淭he proposal needs to do more to relate to the neighborhood on a year-round basis,鈥� Staci Monroe, a BDS reviewer, wrote in an October 2019 summary memo.

The project is 鈥渙ff to a good start 鈥� but has a long way to go,鈥� she stated.