Birdair and Local 397 reimagine entertainment with breathtaking amphitheater

The Sound Amphitheater at Coachman Park in Clearwater headlines $84 million waterfront transformation

From Ironworkers Magazine, December 2023 Edition (article and photos) —

Ironworkers from Local (Tampa, Fla.), working for Birdair, Inc. the world’s leading specialty for custom tensile membrane for years, recently completed work on the Sound Ampthitheatre at Coachman Park, a 4,000-seat covered outdoor venue in Clearwater, Florida, in partnership with the world-class teams of Skanska and Stantec and staffed with ironworker from Local 397, Birdair has worked over the last two years to design and construct this groundbreaking 50,300-square-feet tensile membrane structure, the main attraction of Imagine Clearwater. An $84 million redevelopment project 23 years in the making, Clearwater’s Coachman Park opened to the public on June 28.

The Birdair team was tasked with designing a light, airy roof that looks aesthetically pleasing and visually engaging both for the performances it will host and simply as part of the park setting. A 14-man Birdair installation crew completed the work, with support from Iron Workers Local 397, totaling 20,000 work hours. The entire team worked in tandem with concrete trades, underground civils, electricians and more to turn Imagine Clearwater’s vision into a reality.

JT Thomas, director of construction, Birdair and Local 397 journeyman ironworker, said the Sound Amphitheatre was one of the more challenging yet rewarding installations he’s worked on throughout his career. “The Sound Amphitheatre is the result of a tremendous effort from our crew to deal with evolving site conditions from installation to completion,” Thomas said. “With a complex project like this, the coordination between engineering, fabrication and installation had to be exact. We’re proud of the structure we built and look forward to seeing the amphitheater become a destination for Clearwater residents and visitors across the country.”

The amphitheater features over a million pounds of structural steel shipped on a total of 77 flatbed trucks, with Tensotherm™ insulated panels in the three center sections of the roof for enhanced acoustics. The white-painted steel includes nearly 40,000 fasteners, with an additional 100,000 on the five catwalks. With a manta ray-inspired design to reflect the Clearwater ecosystem, the theater is 88 feet high at the center, and its width is comparable to the size of a suspended football field. Other than the steel truss lacing, every aspect of the structure is in a curve or bisecting curve — what may look like a straight arch to the naked eye actually arches up and out to the east or west.

Four mega columns support the entire structure load, designed to withstand inclement weather, including hurricanes. A spiral staircase leads to catwalks, enabling access to the amphitheater’s lighting, sound, audio-visual system and more. Birdair also constructed 16 PVC Quasar model shade canopies throughout the park as part of the redevelopment project.

“From seeing visitors take shade under the many PVC canopies scattered throughout the park to enjoying the first concert under the manta-ray design of the ‘The Sound’ tensile amphitheater, the Imagine Clearwater project has been magical, to say the least,” said Michele Roth Taylor, business development manager and director of marketing, Birdair.

John Veith, director of project management, Birdair, said, “From where it all started to where it is now is a true testament to the project team’s vision and dedication to design and build this extraordinary park and 50,000-square-foot amphitheater, an engineering feat. Birdair is extremely honored to be part of this incredible accomplishment for the city of Clearwater.”

“Our ironworkers were eager to contribute to this monumental project for Birdair and the city of Clearwater. With the amount of structural steel that was required for The Sound Amphitheater at Coachman Park this project was an ironworker’s dream. We had 25 ironworkers on this project, and I am sure throughout their ironworking careers this will always be a signiﬁcant project they will remember. The hard work and the skilled craftsmanship of Iron Workers Local 397 attributed to the overall success of this project. We have a great partnership with Birdair and look forward to working on many more projects with them in the future.”— Local 397 Business Manager Keven Barber

Generally used for insulating purposes, Birdair’s signature Tensotherm tensile fabric composite system was specified as an open-air roofing system for the very first time at the Sound Amphitheater due to its unique acoustic benefits. After an acoustic analysis of membranes that would best fit the space, a combination of Tensotherm and a single layer of PTFE-coated fiberglass panels was the perfect t for the theater’s acoustic requirements. The world’s first and only translucent and insulated tensile fabric roofing material, Tensotherm, is ideal where significant acoustic dampening is desired or required. Additional benefits of Tensotherm include diffused glare-free natural daylight, enhanced temperature control even in the most extreme environments and innovative sustainability.

Now that it’s completed, the Sound Amphitheater will host several concerts headlined by famous musicians such as the Goo Goo Dolls, Kenny Loggins and Billy Currington. It’s also expected to host graduations, community events and more.

Designed to connect the waterfront to the downtown Clearwater community, Imagine Clearwater also includes an expansive park and recreational spaces, a gateway plaza and bluff walk that connects the park to downtown, a bay walk promenade overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway and a lake area with picnic shelters.

Birdair likes to say, “If you dream it, we will build it,” The ironworkers of Local 397 echo that same sentiment.