The first amphitheater Signal Hill drew for Signal Hill Park had 600 tiered seats under a canopy designed for good acoustics. The one going up behind the construction fencing at 2175 Cherry Ave. has a maximum of 280. The building wasn't cut back to save money, and the budget actually went up. It was cut back so the open lawn would still be there afterward.
The city explained this in a May 27, 2025 City Council update. The design team shrank the amphitheater site plan by one-third. The stage, restrooms and canopy each got about 20 percent smaller. That one decision explains most of the project: how the venue is laid out, where its parking ends, which improvements were postponed, and why the park's holiday events can stay put while construction finishes.
The 320 Seats Signal Hill Gave Back
Before the design was final, city staff from Administration, Public Works, and Parks, Recreation and Library Services toured amphitheaters in Anaheim, Laguna Niguel, Moreno Valley and Murrieta. Those venues had already been in use for several years. The staff report said the main lesson was that an amphitheater "should be appropriately scaled relative to the park site." Staff had seen cities build venues that "did not fully consider programming levels, ongoing operating costs, and site constraints such as parking availability."
The same report explains plainly what 600 fixed seats would have cost the park:
"The initial conceptual design that proposed accommodating 600 fixed seats would result in very limited remaining space for passive and active recreational activities. Given that the open space at Signal Hill Park is utilized daily by residents, staff revisited the design to ensure the final design is appropriately balanced to accommodate the different ways in which the community uses the park."
Here are the two versions side by side:
| Initial concept | Revised design | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed seating | 600, tiered | 280 maximum |
| Site plan footprint | Original | Reduced by one-third |
| Stage and restrooms | Original size | About 20% smaller |
| Canopy | Designed to optimize acoustics | About 20% smaller |
| Audio-visual | Not specified | Essential infrastructure, with room to expand later |
| Concession stand | Not specified | Modified to match the updated seating |
| Gas service | Not specified | Eliminated |
The 600 figure still turns up sometimes. In May 2026, Signal Tribune's story on the City Hall renovation described the amphitheater as having "approximately 600 seats." The city's design documents put the maximum at 280, and that is the venue being built.
A Smaller Venue With a Long List of Uses
The smaller footprint still holds a 1,000-square-foot stage, a green room for performers, extra storage, public restrooms and the wiring for a multifunction LED screen. The city's planned uses are mostly the kind of thing that would struggle to fill 600 seats on a weeknight:
- Concerts, plus musical, theatrical and dance performances
- Exercise classes
- High school band performances
- A speaker series and spoken word
- Presentations such as the State of the City
- Comedy
- Special events and movie nights
The design work was led by SVA Architects. The city's November 25, 2025 contract report says the venue "uses natural grade changes" and fits into the existing Civic Center. It was also designed so the Community Center, the Signal Hill Library and City Hall could stay fully open during construction. On a hill, sloped ground gives you raked seating without building it. That made a smaller venue in this spot easier to justify.
Why the Parking Stops Short of Spud Field
The "fit the park" rule also limited the parking. The amphitheater is Phase One of the city's Civic Center Master Plan, which the City Council adopted on August 27, 2024. Phase One includes a bigger 21st Street parking lot for event loading and visitor parking. The parking was redesigned to avoid "premature encroachment on Spud Field." All grading around Spud Field was moved to Phase Two, so the city wouldn't have to bring crews and equipment back twice.
Phase Two is the bigger piece of work. It covers replacing the existing Community & Youth Center and adding sports courts. According to Signal Tribune, the new Community Center has no set timetable, and its schedule will depend on funding.
Phase Three was postponed for a reason anyone who has walked up from the City Hall lots will recognize. The council asked staff and John Kaliski Architects to look at building accessible routes from the parking areas to the park and the new amphitheater, along with a widened plaza on Jessie Nelson Circle. Because the park sits so much higher than Jessie Nelson Circle, that work would take "a significant amount of grading." Staff estimated about $10 million at 2025 prices and recommended putting the city's money into the amphitheater for now.
Methane, Grading and a Calendar That Ran Past September
The city still paid more for a smaller building. The adopted capital budget for the amphitheater was $8.4 million. By May 2025, the estimated total had risen to about $11.2 million. In November 2025, the council awarded the construction contract to CABD Construction for $9,677,000, which came in below the engineer's final estimate of $10.3 million. It also approved an 18 percent contingency, bringing the construction budget to as much as $11,418,860.
City policy normally calls for a 10 percent contingency. The staff report explained the higher figure with a list of risks that apply to Signal Hill's ground in particular: heavy grading and earthwork, structural concrete, high-voltage electrical work, specialized lighting and LED systems that take a long time to arrive, and methane mitigation. Methane mitigation analysis was already part of the design-phase spending. On a hill that used to be an oil field, that work comes with any new building.
The money comes from two sources. One is a $5 million state allocation that went through Sen. Lena Gonzalez's office, was approved in Assembly Bill 179 in September 2022, and is managed by the California Arts Council. The other is the city's Civic Center Master Plan Reserve. The 2022 Budget Act set June 30, 2026 as the deadline to use the grant. In May 2025, staff said they were asking the Arts Council for more time.
The construction schedule has shifted a few times:
- May 2025: Staff aimed for construction to start by October 2025 and finish by August 2026.
- November 2025: The contract set a 282-day term starting in December 2025, with completion in September 2026. It also gave the Deputy Public Works Director authority to approve a 180-day extension for unforeseen conditions.
- May 2026: Signal Tribune reported the amphitheater was under construction and "scheduled to open in the fall."
- July 2026: Signal Tribune's budget coverage described it as "expected to be completed soon."
- August 25, 2026: The council considered adding $185,000 to its contract with Associated Soils Engineering so the firm could keep doing on-site inspection and materials testing. About $180,000 of the firm's work so far had gone to amphitheater construction inspection.
So inspection was still going on in late August, and the September target has passed. As this post goes up at the end of October, the city has not posted a grand opening date or a ribbon cutting. A late opening still falls within the 180-day extension the council approved in advance.
The Holiday Dates Don't Depend on the Stage
Because construction was planned to leave the Community Center, library and City Hall running, the park's regular calendar has continued alongside it. The city scheduled its Halloween Carnival for Saturday, Oct. 24 at Signal Hill Park, with Trunk-or-Treat, carnival games and bounce houses. The next two events are on the city calendar:
- Tree Lighting Ceremony: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, at 5:15 p.m., Signal Hill Park, 2175 Cherry Ave. The calendar listing says the Cities of Signal Hill and Long Beach are hosting together.
- Santa's Workshop: Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2026, 5 to 7:30 p.m., at the Signal Hill Public Library, 1800 E. Hill St. Pre-registration is required.
Neither listing mentions the new stage. If the amphitheater opens before the end of the year, these would be the first chances to see whether the city moves its own events onto it.
Next to the park, the rest of the Civic Center has already been updated. City Hall, which has stood in the same spot since 1934 and was once the home of Signal Hill's first mayor, Jessie Nelson, reopened on April 16, 2026. That followed a $3.5 million renovation by Estate Design and Construction. Signal Tribune reported that the city considered making the building bigger but kept it as it was after the community asked for it to be preserved. The Council Chambers inside now have updated acoustics, furnishings and audio-visual systems.
When a house sits near Signal Hill Park, these changes can affect how buyers see it. A new venue, a bigger 21st Street lot, and evening events planned for a 280-seat space rather than a 600-seat one all matter. If you want to know how the Civic Center work might affect what your home is worth, The Elmer Team can put together a valuation based on recent Signal Hill sales. Get your instant home valuation and we'll follow up as the amphitheater gets closer to opening.
