The rise & fall of Columbus’ 20,000 seat Polaris Amphitheater was quick. In a blink, it was gone.
The venue – on the city’s north end – was owned by a joint partnership of PromoWest Productions, Sunshine Promotions, and Belkin Productions. It opened in 1994. Scott Steinecker, who owned PromoWest, spent seven years bringing the project to fruition.
Then – suddenly three years in – there was an offer to sell.
Robert Sillerman of SFX Entertainment had purchased controlling interest in the eighth largest promotion company in the nation, which included Sunshine. He now wanted to buy both Steinecker and Jules Belkin out.
They agreed.
Then, the power play revealed itself. SFX wanted to control the market by squeezing Steinecker out of the Newport Music Hall where he was on a lease. In the podcast ‘Showmaker,’ Steinecker says the plan was to buy his building and then not renew him.
Backed into a corner, Steinecker came out swinging. He quickly drew up plans for a unique indoor / outdoor concert venue and to put it in the blossoming Arena District downtown. A seasoned independent promoter, born in St Mary’s, Ohio, Steinecker knew he wanted an indoor venue bigger than the Newport and an outdoor venue smaller than Polaris. His new concept had both.
PromoWest Pavilion (now Kemba Live!) was the country’s first successful indoor / outdoor concert venue opening on October 2, 2001. The indoor music hall was built with a capacity of 2300 while the outdoor amphitheater can hold up to 5200.
Steinecker – the independent gunslinger – had outplayed the corporate behemoth. SFX backed off and PromoWest began to flourish.
Scott knew at 16 when he saw Kiss play at St John’s Arena what he wanted to do. At the prompting of a friend to throw a party, he decided to rent out the Tri-County Events Center in Celina, Ohio and hire an Akron band – Mandrin Cypher. He charged $3 admission to get in and ended up making $1080. He was hooked.
In the early 1980s, Scott transferred from BG to Ohio State and got a position with the OSU Pep Board co-promoting concerts for the university. Two of the shows he helped promote with Belkin Productions were Black Sabbath and AC/DC at St Johns Arena.
Scott never finished his senior year at Ohio State.
In 1981 he decided to follow his brother to California. They lived together in Santa Barbara and Scott was able to get an internship with famed promoter Bill Graham. Scott began working for Parallax Productions in Berkley the next year.
Then, in 1983, he got the call that changed his life.
The Columbus Agora had just closed. There appeared to be a deal in place to turn it into a pharmacy. Scott quickly got ahold of Hank LoConti, the owner. If Scott could wire him $25,000 by Friday, he would agree to lease the building to him.
And so began the legacy of one of America’s top independent rock-n-roll promoters of all time.
Scott Stienecker and his partner Joe Brooks entered into a management agreement to open a new bar at 1722 N. High St (vacant old Agora building) in the heart of campus in 1984.
After five months of renovation, the venue re-opened as the Newport Music Hall. On September 11, 1984, a new chapter in an absolute music jewel for the city of Columbus was born. Opening night act: Neil Young and Crazy Horse. By the time Neil Young took the stage, Scott says, the $180,000 in small business loans had been spent.
In their first year, the two partners booked: Frank Zappa, Leon Russell, Gregg Allman, Michael Stanley, and even comedian Jay Leno. Local acts included Mimi Rousseau, Julie Ivory & Snapshot and McGuffey Lane.
The Newport did its due diligence in signing acts on the verge of stardom and sometimes they just got lucky. Hootie & the Blowfish played the Newport in 1994 for reportedly $750. Six months later, after release of their multiplatinum debut album ‘Cracked Rear View’ they played Polaris Amphitheater for $200,000.
Scott got a call in 1995 and was told to find a coffee shop for a young, up & coming female artist to play for six straight Tuesdays. Her name was Jewel. She would pull up in her station wagon and guys would help set up her equipment. As of 2024, Jewell has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots was a ticket taker at the Newport starting out and the band’s manager Chris Holtman (a Northland High School grad) was hired by Scott on the spot when he showed up at his back door one day.
Twenty One Pilots was very loyal to Scott. They famously played ‘Tour De Columbus’ in June 2017. The five-day event included gigs at the Basement, the Newport Music Hall, Kemba Outdoors, Schottensteins Center and Nationwide Arena.
Scott Steinecker grew his music empire to Pittsburgh and most recently Cincinnati, owning & operating at one time up to 14 venues.
After forty six years in the live entertainment business and forty years as CEO of PromoWest, Scott Steinecker aligned his company with AEG Presents (one of the largest live music companies in the world) and retired in 2024.
Scott is credited with pioneering the country’s first indoor / outdoor stage and is widely considered one of the top independent rock-n-roll promoters of all time.
The ripples of Scott Steinecker’s reverence for music from that bold and prodigious $25,000 leap of faith in 1984 are still felt today in Columbus, Ohio.
The gunslinger has left the building, but his legend will be felt for years to come.
Germain Amphitheater closed in 2007, ten years after Steinecker and his partners sold it.
Sources: A historical guide to old Columbus by Bob Hunter, 2012; Columbus Monthly, A new concert bar in the campus area by Michael Norman, March, 1985; Columbus Neighborhoods – A guide to the Landmarks by Tom Bett, Ed Lentz & Doreen Uhas Sauer, 2013; thisdayinmusic.com, Pearl Jam – Ten, Jan 7, 2022; Promowestlive.com; Showmaker – One of America’s last independent promoters, six part podcast on Spotify; U2songs.com; Tour De Columbus, www.twentyonepilots.fandom.com; Swimming with the Sharks by Maureen McGavin, Feb 2002, Columbus Monthly; Featured picture of Steinecker and Rolling Stones Ron Wood courtesy of Columbus Monthly.