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Construction on the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino ( which was handled by Bird Construction ) began October 2017 with a planned opening in 2020 which , of course , was delayed due to covid . With 685,000 onsite person hours and up to approximately 300 workers onsite per day , the OLG Stage At Fallsview Casino is built on top of the existing Hilton parking garage and is designed for audiences of all ages as a fully AODA accessible venue that includes T-Loop listening technology . The size of the venue is approximately 200,000 square feet and consists of a ground level entry and four levels of seating with 150 AODA accessible seats . It also hosts four permanent concession stands while an on-site self-parking garage is located at Fallsview Casino Resort . There are two entrances where guests can enter the parking garage : Murray Hill and Fallsview Boulevard . Parking is also available at Hilton Fallsview through their parking garage with over 31 dedicated AODA accessible parking spaces available in the Hilton Garage .
The Fallsview Boulevard entrance is unique in that it ’ s a direct connection to the Fallsview Casino , hotels , restaurants and other amenities via an environmentally controlled pedestrian walkway and bridge which features a consistent gentle slope that maintains an unencumbered pathway between both properties for easier pedestrian traffic flow .
The OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino officially opened on February 25 , 2023 with a rollicking performance by the legendary Billy Joel . Since
then the venue has hosted a diverse set of acts including Pitbull , Billy Idol , Blue Rodeo , Michael Bolton , Brantley Gilbert , The Lumineers , and Bret Michaels .
“ The stage is a good size as crazy as it is it does get filled up pretty quickly ,” says Ante Zlomislic , Director of Entertainment and Events , Niagara Casinos . “ At the same time , Billy Joel was nine tractor trailers for that show that we loaded in so typically tours come in with two or three trucks and yes , we ’ ll supplement off of that but you can see it ’ s pretty impactful just being onstage . Not having a seat further than 150 feet it still has that intimate feeling which is pretty cool . There ’ s the capability of the floor seats to get removed . So we can do a general admission show if needed . And then each balcony has a scrim drape that comes down , so we actually close it off . So , some shows might only be a 3000 cap . Or if there ’ s demand we can open it up as needed , but for the majority shows that we have been doing in here we ’ ve been at the full 5000 capacity .”
Lighting , of course , is an integral component of any live venue and the OLG Stage At Fallsview Casino is no exception . Westbury National Show Systems handled the installation while Novita and Westbury National Show Systems were the consultants .
Niagara Casinos Lighting Director Murray Taylor explains that the venue was designed to be as touring-friendly as possible to accommodate acts on major tours .
“ A lot of tours that are traveling are dealing with the 40 foot wide by 60 foot stage depth . So , what we wanted to do is kind of mimic that but at the same time have room in between our lighting trusses . So when a tour does come in , once they hang their own lights , we don ’ t need to remove ours . We can still put theirs up , we can raise and get ours out of the way and then put those in place . I think that as different LDs come in , they ’ re pretty pleased with what the overall functionality is in most fixtures . It ’ s kind of got a little bit of everything in it .”
The result is a comprehensive mix of lighting elements that has so far impressed both Taylor and fellow Niagara Casinos Lighting Director Jeff Farrow as well as artists that have performed at the venue .
“ The profile lights are High End Systems HES Solaframe 3000 which is now an ETC fixture that we have actually turned out to really like ,” explains Farrow . “ It ’ s kind of got a little bit of everything in it . The wash lines are Ayrton Nandobeam S9 , it has also turned out to be a fixture that I wasn ’ t sure that I was going to like and in the end it really does what we need it to .”
The fixtures are controlled via a GrandMA 3 console . “ We haven ’ t had a single act come in that hasn ’ t already had a show file and been able to patch in and go ,” says Farrow . “ A lot of people are still using it at MA 2 mode . But we ’ re starting to see a few acts coming in with M3 files that are excited to know make a go in a new room with the new gear .”
Showline SL Nitro 510 LED Strobes are utilized as both strobes and blinders while ETC
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