University Amphitheater to be demolished for UHS

Andrew Riggs / The Collegian

By Bradley Hart
The Collegian

A long-time feature of the Fresno State campus will be disappearing sometime next semester.

The campus amphitheater, which sits southwest of the Speech Arts building, is tentatively scheduled for demolition in the near future.

“We don’t have a time frame right now,” Plant Operations Manager Gary Wilson said. “But I’d say it will probably be sometime next semester.”

Wilson said the site of the amphitheater will likely be leveled and eventually used for the construction of new buildings for University High School.

The final plan for the site is still pending official approval and the signing of an official lease agreement between University High and Fresno State.

The amphitheater can hold about 7,000 people but has been home to a declining number of events in recent years. With the construction of the Save Mart Center as the primary venue for concerts and other large-scale events, the amphitheater has been largely overshadowed and has seen only infrequent official use.

The amphitheater and its associated structures were constructed in the late 1970s, Wilson said.

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