PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Portsmouth’s Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion has its first scheduled act of the 2020 concert season as it prepares to reopen this spring, nearly two years after a “major” structural flaw caused the venue’s canopy to be removed.
Promoters announced Tuesday that “2 Phones” and “Walls Talking” rapper Kevin Gates will perform on Wednesday June 10 at 8 p.m. The Louisiana native just released his second studio album “I’M HIM” in September 2019, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Album Sales chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Tickets range from $29.50 to $69.50 and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at the Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion Box Office and online at www.ticketmaster.com.
The announcement is a major step for a project marred by multiple setbacks. The venue’s canopy was taken down in the summer of 2018 after water caused a 10-foot crack in the canopy’s main mast support, impacting multiple shows that season.
More than $2 million in repairs were supposed to be completed in June of 2019, but city officials said more issues were found and all of the 2019 acts were forced to move to other venues.
In November 2019, city leaders approved spending another $2 million on repairs, and on Monday said the canopy was back up and the pavilion was on track for a possible April reopening.
IMGoing, which operates the pavilion, is suing the city for $4.5 million, claiming it lost millions of dollars due to the city’s inability to get the pavilion ready for the 2019 season.
