By GREGORY ZELLER //
The iconic Jones Beach amphitheater has a new official name, thanks to a fresh corporate sponsorship deal.
New Hyde Park-based Northwell Health, New York State’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, announced Monday that it has signed a “multi-year agreement” with venue manager Live Nation to rename the 14,000-seat amphitheater Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Live Nation, a California-based concert promoter and ticket seller, manages the historic 65-year-old venue for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Calling the theater “a Long Island landmark and an iconic entertainment venue,” Northwell Health Senior Vice President Ramon Soto noted an ideal partner for a “highly respected” health system with “deep roots across Long Island.”
“This partnership provides us with a unique opportunity to not only showcase the Northwell brand, but also celebrate the intersection of life and health at a destination that draws hundreds of thousands of concertgoers annually,” Soto, the health system’s chief marketing and communications officer, said in a statement.
Northwell Health will also be “the official healthcare partner of Jones Beach Theater,” according to the health system, which will have signs, posters, banners and other graphics “displayed prominently” throughout the venue.
Healthcare providers representing different Northwell practice areas will also be on-hand at concerts and other events to offer health screenings and wellness tips, the health system said.
Originally opened in 1952 as Jones Beach Marine Theater, the amphitheater – designed to specifications drawn up by Robert Moses – has grown and undergone several name changes. Originally built for an 8,200 capacity, the theater underwent renovations in 1992 and 1998 that expanded capacity north of 14,000 seats.
No name has lasted as long as the original “Marine Theater” tag, which stuck with the venue until 1994. That year, the theater officially adopted the Jones Beach Amphitheater moniker, which only lasted for six years: In 2000, the name changed again, shortening to Jones Beach Theater.
Since then, the amphitheater – so named for its open-air, semicircular, tiered-seating design – has assembled an impressive slate of corporate namesakes. It was known as Tommy Hilfiger at Jones Beach Theater from 2002 to 2006 and Nikon at Jones Beach Theater from 2007 to last year.
Now add Northwell to the list – a very healthy development for Live Nation, which promotes itself as “the world’s leading entertainment and ticketing company” and is “looking forward to working closely with Northwell Health for years to come,” according to Senior Vice President Andy Peikon.
“We are thrilled that Northwell Health has chosen the legendary Jones Beach Theater as a platform to heighten their visibility,” Peikon, who runs venue sales for Live Nation, said Monday, adding Northwell practitioners and marketers would be able to “connect with thousands of concertgoers.”
Live Nation has not yet finalized the 2017 concert slate for Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater. Acts already announced for the theater’s summer concert series include Dave Matthews, Third Eye Blind, Train and duet performances pairing Rod Stewart with Cyndi Lauper, Chicago with the Doobie Brothers and 1980s icons Foreigner and Cheap Trick.
