"The daily life of up to 43,000 people in the Colorado Springs area has been invaded," states Ford Hurts Families, a community association that formed to combat noise pollution coming from Ford Amphitheater. The group's website lists many of the Springs neighborhoods north of the city proper, including Northgate, Flying Horse, Greyhawk, the Farm, Gleneagle, Jackson Creek and Fox Run, as being adversely affected by the decibel level of the venue's concerts this year.
According to Ford Hurts Families, the Godsmack concert hit the Northgate Highlands neighborhood with at least 59 decibels of "very audible, clear, bass and drums," significantly higher than Colorado Springs' fifty-decibel noise pollution limit. That's just one of the examples cited by the group, which has been urging residents to sign a petition calling for lower stage volumes, earlier concerts and a cessation of post-show fireworks.
The petition has not gone unnoticed. On October 25, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade met with City Council President Randy Helms and J.W. Roth, the founder, chairman and CEO of Venu Holding Corporation, the company behind Ford Amphitheater. The aim was to acknowledge and address the uproar of noise complaints that the mayor's office has received since the venue's opening on August 9. A plan to help mitigate noise pollution in the surrounding residential areas was proposed, one built on previous promises from Venu.
"The plan focuses on three action areas: physical, electro-acoustic and operational changes," says a statement issued by Mayor Mobolade. "It proposes material changes to the structure of the amphitheater that are significant in both physical size and cost to them. This includes an expansion of the solid surface wall, sound curtains and sound absorption panels. They are also continuing to model and test ideal speaker locations to address low-frequency noise, and proposals are being reviewed to reduce decibel limits and earlier end times for non-weekend shows."
Since that statement, Ford Hurts Families has criticized the mayor's plan for being based on inaccurate sound-measurement data. In addition to common-sense solutions, such as turning down the venue's volume knobs, the group is calling for the installation of a network of fixed sensors throughout the areas to provide a continuous record of noise pollution levels.
"Our community and their feedback are important to our mission," says a Venu spokesman. "We’re truly grateful for the opportunity to connect with our neighbors and hear their thoughts. We’ve gathered sound data from every show both inside the venue and in neighboring communities, hosted two in-person town hall forums, welcomed individuals into our offices for one-on-one conversations, set up a direct feedback email to stay accessible, and created a dedicated newsletter to share updates to ensure we collected valuable feedback. These efforts have allowed us to better understand concerns, and we deeply value the chance to engage with our community. We thank the community for their patience as we ensure that any decision we make is well informed and will make an impact."
That impact will need to mend a growing rift in the community. "Fix the noise, and we can all get back to getting along," Ford Hurts Families' website says.With Ford Amphitheater's 2025 concert season on the horizon — Dwight Yoakam, Leon Bridges, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra have already been announced — it remains to be seen if the resolution will be a harmonious one.
