Bring on the summer music! Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa features summer concerts from July 4th through September. Special performances and events take place during the annual Orange County Fair every July. During that time, admission to the Orange County Fair is included with the purchase of Pacific Amphitheatre concert tickets. The outdoor venue located at the OC Fair & Event Center, seats 7,850 concert-goers.
Pacific Amphitheatre Details
Address: 100 Fair Dr, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone Number: 714-708-1500
Box Office Hours: Saturdays & Sundays 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (Hours vary throughout the year. Call ahead to confirm hours)
General Parking: Rates vary by event. $10 and up
RV/Limo Parking: $20 and up
Pacific Amphitheatre History
Pacific Amphitheatre originally opened in 1983 with Barry Manilow taking the stage and was the site of Marvin Gaye’s final concert before his death. The Amphitheatre is located in the city of Costa Mesa, with residential communities within close proximity. Due to noise complaints from residents, the Amphitheatre was closed in the early 1990s. The venue reopened in 2003 after making an agreement with local residents to hold concerts only during OC Fair Season. Pacific Amphitheatre was revitalized in 2015.
Seating
Seating at Pacific Amphitheater accommodates approximately 7,850 attendees and is divided into 8 regular sections, plus a pit and a circle section in front of the stage. Wheelchair accessible sections are available in the front portion of section three, at the rear of sections one and three, and at the rear of sections five and seven.
Parking
General parking for Pacific Amphitheatre is available on the grounds of the OC Fair & Event Center. During events, signs will be posted with directions for entry. Once parked, enter the fair and the amphitheatre through the Green, Yellow, or Blue gates. During high traffic days, on-site parking fills up quickly and drivers will be directed to nearby offsite parking.
Free Parking: The offsite parking area is located at the Experian Parking Structure on Bristol and is free of charge on Saturdays and Sundays. Shuttle service is available from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekends only to transport guests to the fairgrounds.
Onsite parking during fair season is $10 per car or $20 per bus or limo. Surrounding residential areas require city issued permits for street parking and vehicles without permits may be towed and/or ticketed.
VIP Parking: There is a Pacific Amphitheatre Reserved Parking option that requires advanced purchase. Reserved Parking is closed 24 hours before each event and must be purchased prior to this deadline. Enter through Gate 4 to access Reserved Parking.
You can also take The OC Express Bus $4 Roundtrip with 9 locations Anaheim, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Orange Village and Santa Ana.
Concessions
Pacific Amphitheatre is located at the OC Fair & Event center and a variety of concessions and unique fair-food vendors are available within the OC Fairgrounds to purchase food and drinks. Guests will enjoy everything from their favorite beer to gourmet hot dogs, vegetable wrap, roasted corn, donuts and more. There is also food and beverage concessions inside the amphitheatre.
Pacific Amphitheatre Tips & Venue Information
- Check the website for parking information and directions before you go in case there are updates.
- Uber and Lyft pick up and drop off to avoid parking issues.
- Bicycle racks are located near all public entrances.
- Plan to arrive 60 to 90 minutes before the show.
- There are ample options for food and beverages, so lines are not extremely long.
- There are plenty of restroom stalls so wait times are not as long as at some venues.
- Pay attention to signs on the street directing traffic.
- Purchase food and drinks at the fair and bring it into the venue.
- Visit the OC Fair before or after the concert (or both) with free fair admission with every concert ticket.
- Two monitors for viewing performers.
- Bring jackets, sweaters, or blankets – summer evenings are sometimes cool at this venue.
- About $9 – $12 for beer and $12 for mixed drinks
What’s Allowed at Pacific Amp
- Small bags
- Blankets
- Binoculars
- Signs no larger than 28″W by 22″H
What’s Not Allowed
- Weapons of any kind
- Backpacks
- Lawn Chairs
- Strollers and Wagons
- Umbrellas
- Alcohol
- Cameras – still or video
- Recorders – audio or video
- Illegal drugs/substances
- Glass containers
- Cans
- Hard sided/large coolers
- Laser pointers or pens
- Animals (except service animals)
- Fireworks
- Outside Food
2019 Events at Pacific Amphitheatre
- Pacific Symphony July 4th Spectacular – Hotel California: A Salute to the Eagles
- Saturday, July 6 – The Damned & -X- Reverend Horton Heat
- Wednesday, July 10 – Seal with Rennie Adams
- Thursday, July 11 – Rick Springfield with Pacific Symphony
- Friday & Saturday, July 12 & 13 – Rebelution, Collie Buddz/IYA, Terra, and DJ Mackle
- Sunday, July 14 – Justin Moore and Josh Phillips
- Wednesday, July 17 – Brandi Carlile and David Rosales
- Thursday, July 18 – Why Don’t We with Eben
- Friday, July 19 – Ziggy Marley with Toots and the Maytals
- Saturday, July 20 – Pat Benetar & Neil Giraldo with Melissa Etheridge
- Sunday, July 21 – Happy Together Tour
- Wednesday, July 24 – STYX
- Thursday, July 25 – Brothers Osborne with Chase Bryant
- Friday, July 26 – Chicago
- Saturday, July 27 – Smokey Robinson
- Sunday, July 28 – Dwight Yoakam with Midland
- Wednesday, July 31 – Kool & The Gang with Evelyn “Champagne” King
- Thursday, August 1 – The B-52’s with Dead Man’s Party
- Friday, August 2 – Michael McDonald with Chaka Khan
- Saturday, August 3 – The Fab Four
- Sunday, August 4 – Viva El Mariachi
- Wednesday, August 7 – Lindsey Stirling with ZZ Ward
- Thursday, August 8 – “Weird Al” Yankovic
- Friday, August 9 – George Thorogood & The Destroyers with Walter Trout
- Saturday, August 10 – LIVE and Bush: The Altimate Tour
- Sunday, August 11 – America with Poco/Firefall
- Wednesday, August 14 – El Fantasma/Virlan Garcia and Los Austeros De Durango
- Thursday, August 15 – Collective Soul and Gin Blossoms with The Black Moods
- Friday, August 16 – Jackson Browne
- Saturday, August 17 – Pacific Symphony Star Wars: A New Hope In Concert
- Sunday, August 18 – The Mighty O.A.R with American Authors and Rozzi
- Thursday, August 22 – Ramon Ayala and Banda Machos
- Saturday, September 7 – Pacific Symphony: Tchaikovsky Fireworks Spectacular
- Sunday, September 8 – Pacific Symphony Hail To The Heroes
For a complete and updated list of events visit Pacific Amphitheater Events.
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Heidi Deal is the author of the 6th edition of the Newcomers Handbook to Living In Los Angeles (including Orange County), an expert at exploring all that Orange County has to offer, and a children’s book author specializing in history and human rights.