Snoop Dogg Opens F&M Bank Amphitheater in Long Beach

A cloud of pungent smoke hovered over the $21.3 million, 11,000-capacity F&M Bank Amphitheater in Long Beach on June 6, with local hero Snoop Dogg and Friends headlining the opening night of what is now the second largest amphitheater in Los Angeles County, second to the Hollywood Bowl.

The modular, open-air amphitheater – created out of recycled shipping containers for maximum sustainability – is just the first step in an ongoing waterfront redevelopment to include building out the venue and surrounding it with more parking and amenities.

It was just six months ago ground was broken on the city-owned venue, with Mayor Rex Richardson, local officials and executives from venue operator Legends Global including general manager Tra Jones, a Long Beach native who broke into the business doing food and beverage for the Convention and Entertainment Center before rising to assistant GM.

“This is all pretty surreal for me,” said Jones, who hosted Seoul Food Kitchen, a YouTube cooking show with his wife when he was furloughed during COVID. “I’m super-stoked for what we’ve accomplished. I’m surrounded by a great team. Working alongside, and having such a great relationship, with the city means everything. It was great to have all these resources to pull from.”

Jones made sure that local touch extended to the amphitheater itself, which includes visual nods to local retailers like VIP Records and Fingerprints Records, as well as Sublime’s indie label Skunk Records.

The food selections feature a variety of Long Beach vendors, including iconic bar and sandwich shop Joe Jost’s, while opening night’s signature cocktail offering was Snoop and Dre’s own Still G.I.N. and Juice. Dressing rooms are named after local high schools like Lakewood and Long Beach Poly, with the industry lounge dubbed “710” after the LBC area code.

The venue has also reached out to local institutions such as the Long Beach Symphony and Jazzfest to provide new homes.

“Long Beach hasn’t had a place to host national music tours for some time,” acknowledged Jones, although Long Beach Arena at the convention center still hosts the occasional family show or concert. “ We’re filling a void in that sweet spot between the South Bay on one side and Orange County.”

Legends Global brought in former Live Nation SVP Production Dan Schartoff and Lightswitch to create the venue’s lighting architecture and production design, including the building of hospitality areas. A naming rights partnership with Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach, founded in 1907, was announced the week of the opening event.

At the sold-out opening night after the show, Long Beach Mayor Richardson presented Snoop Dogg with the key to the city. “Long Beach created the culture, and Snoop Dogg shared it with the world,” he said. “Tonight was more than a concert; it was a historic cultural moment a decade in the making. This presentation recognizes not only his extraordinary achievements in music, entertainment and business, but also the authenticity, creativity and pride with which he has represented our city on the global stage for decades.”

The initial lineup of shows, booked by Live Nation (though the venue is open to all promoters), includes Les Claypool & Sean Lennon, Ice Cube & Mike Epps, Lil Wayne, The Game & 2 Chainz, TOTO, Christopher Cross & the Romantics, Luke Bryan, Dirty Heads and 31, and Mötley Crüe with Tesla and Extreme, among others.

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/06/25/fm-bank-amphitheater-snoop-dogg-opening-a-triumph-for-long-beach-and-hometown-venue-gm/)._