Dallas: Dos Equis Pavilion at Fair Park

Dos Equis Pavilion has hosted Dallas’s biggest outdoor summer concerts since 1988 — it just hasn’t always gone by that name. The 20,000-capacity amphitheater at Fair Park opened on July 23, 1988, as the Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre, with Rod Stewart headlining opening weekend and Aerosmith and Guns N’ Roses following soon after.

Six Names, One Stage

Over the following three decades the venue’s title sponsor changed repeatedly: Starplex Amphitheatre (1999), Smirnoff Music Centre (2000–2007), Superpages.com Center (2008–2010), Gexa Energy Pavilion (2011–2016), Starplex Pavilion (2017), and finally Dos Equis Pavilion starting in April 2018. Locals who grew up with any one of those names still sometimes call it by the old one. What didn’t change was the venue’s role as home base for Dallas’s touring-festival era — Lollapalooza played here every summer from 1991 to 1997, Ozzfest and Edgefest returned again and again through the 1990s and 2000s, Lilith Fair stopped here from 1997–1999, and the Vans Warped Tour made it an annual date from 2000 through 2010.

7,500 Under the Roof, 12,500 on the Lawn

The amphitheater’s classic “shed” layout splits between a partially covered, 7,500-seat pavilion section and a sprawling 12,500-person general-admission lawn, giving Dallas concertgoers the choice between a roof over their head and a blanket under the stars. Live Nation operates the venue today as part of the larger Fair Park complex, alongside the Cotton Bowl and Fair Park’s other cultural buildings.

Dos Equis Pavilion sits across town from American Airlines Center, giving Dallas a genuine outdoor-versus-indoor choice for its biggest touring shows depending on the season. Lawn tickets are typically the cheapest way in, but bring your own blanket or low chair — outside seating isn’t provided on the grass.

I’ve been here ♪