San Diego Symphony to Open New $85 Million Outdoor Venue

Called "The Shell," the ambitious new concert hall will be opening once COVID-19 restrictions loosen and architects make finishing touches

The San Diego Symphony is preparing a spectacular comeback in this brand new bayside concert venue. It will be the very first permanent and year-round concert venue operated by a symphony orchestra.

This $85 million project is located in Embarcadero Marina Park South. The downtown location will have a stage-side gourmet kitchen run by celebrity chef, Richard Blais. In conjunction with the restaurant, the venue will feature two open-air pavilions with local brews and food from surrounding San Diego-based restaurants.

Beginning with a price tag of $45 million, the cost of this project has increased simply due to its anticipated posterity. The team building this quintessential structure says they are on track with their budget, claiming it to be a wonderful gift for the city of San Diego for generations to come.

“If the state said: ‘Tomorrow, you can hold a concert here,’ we would,” Greg Mueller, the owner of San Diego’s Tucker Sandler Architects, Inc., said. “We’re just doing some really fine-tuning now. It’s such a state-of-the-art facility that we’re being very nit-picky about getting it perfect.”