Nikon At Jones Beach Comes Back To Life After Hurricane Sandy

WANTAGH, NY (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — After cleaning up the damage from severe flooding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy last fall, Live Nation has announced that the Nikon at Jones Beach Theater in Long Island has reopened for business.

Along with much of the coastal regions throughout New York and New Jersey, Hurricane Sandy inflicted catastrophic damage on the Nikon, with the storm surge leaving more than 3 million gallons of seawater to be pumped from the venue. Repairs to the Nikon cost more than $20 Million and addressed damage to seating, the stage, and VIP areas, as well as backstage and concession facilities.

The stage and boardwalk and their substructures had to be completely rebuilt from scratch. More than 9 miles of special MCM cable had to be replaced in the tunnels and access ways below the venue. All the doors on the main level, more than 200 in total, had to be replaced. Where possible the venue's infrastructure was redesigned to mitigate any future damages (i.e. the main electrical system was relocated to the second floor, above the 100 year floodplain) and replacement appliances and equipment were upgraded to energy efficient models.

"It was a priority for Live Nation to work quickly to return this historic venue to working order," said Michael Rapino, CEO and President of Live Nation Entertainment. "Of course it was important to the artists who love to play at Jones Beach every summer and to the thousands of fans that come to a concert there. But it was also vital for the local community and the hundreds of employees who work at Jones Beach – so we actually started preparing for the potential clean-up and reconstruction efforts before the storm even arrived. It's a testament to the single-mindedness and dedication of the entire reconstruction team that we were able to put Jones Beach back together in time for this summer's great lineup of shows."

The venue is now set to re-open with a May 31st concert by country legend Rascal Flatts.

The full summer schedule for the Nikon at Jones Beach.

•May 31 Rascal Flatts

•June 1 Pitbull & Ke$ha

•June 22 Fleetwood Mac

•June 23 Rush

•June 25 & 26 Dave Matthews Band

•June 27 Heart

•June 28 & 29 One Direction

•July 6 The Rascals

•July 12 Phish

•July 13 311, Cypress Hill, G Love & Special Sauce

•July 14 Sublime with Rome, Descendents, Pennywise

•July 17 Daughtry & Three Doors Down

•July 18 Big Time Rush & Victoria Justice

•July 19 Lil Wayne, T.I. and 2 Chainz

•July 21 Blake Shelton

•July 23 Train, The Script, Gavin DeGraw

•July 25 Imagine Dragons

•July 27 Bob Dylan and his Band, Wilco, Beck, Ryan Bingham

•August 6 Wiz Khalifa & A$AP Rocky, B.O.B, Trinidad James, Joey Bada$$, Pro Era

•August 10 The Black Crows & Tedeschi Trucks Band

•August 11 Honda Civic Tour Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson

•August 13 Backstreet Boys, Jesse McCartney, DJ Pauly D

•August 17 Matchbox Twenty, Goo Goo Dolls

•August 18 Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival

•August 20 & 22 Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band

•August 28 John Mayer, Philip Philips

•September 7 The Allman Brothers Band, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

•September 8 Depeche Mode, Bat for Lashes