Venu Holding closes $60M sale-leaseback on Sunset Amphitheater land in McKinney, Texas
Image: Venu
Venu Holding Corporation has closed a $60 million sale-leaseback on the land beneath its Sunset Amphitheater and an adjacent parking garage in McKinney, Texas, part of the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The buyer is STORE Capital, LLC, a net-lease REIT.
Proceeds will retire the roughly $20 million bridge loan Venu took from Ryan, LLC, and fund completion of construction. "Closing this $60 million sale-leaseback shows how we put our real estate to work," said J.W. Roth, Venu's founder, CEO and chairman. "This capital positions us to retire our bridge financing and complete construction." STORE Capital President and CEO Mary Fedewa called the venue "exactly the kind of mission-critical, long-term asset STORE Capital seeks to own."
The McKinney City Council voted earlier in October 2026 to let Venu pursue the sale-leaseback. The city had already approved $18 million in incentives for the project in 2024, and the McKinney Economic Development Corp. and McKinney Community Development Corp. have provided a combined $8 million in grants.
The project has grown well beyond its original scope. Announced in March 2024 as a $220 million, 46-acre, 20,000-capacity venue, it's now running at roughly $330 to $334 million, according to Venu vice president Bob Mudd: "Our cost today is right at $334 million." Mudd put construction at about 70% complete. Cost drivers include designing the venue for multiple seating configurations from 5,000 to 20,000, moving premium seating into the main bowl, adding full climate control, and adding technology for immersive shows.
It has been reported that the project also lost a significant funding source along the way. Opening, originally targeted for 2026, has slipped to the first quarter of 2027, with a temporary certificate of occupancy possible by April 1.
The venue sits next to the Sheraton McKinney Hotel and is planned to include close to 300 firepit suites and a members-only lounge tied to former NFL quarterback Troy Aikman. Mudd described the sale-leaseback itself as "ultimately a midterm financing mechanism": Venu expects to buy the land back from STORE Capital around June or July 2027, after the venue opens.
