Renowned music and entertainment publication Billboard has named Queens’ Forest Hills Stadium as the best amphitheater on the East Coast in a new racking of the best music venues for 2025.
The 14,000-capacity stadium, which has a rich history dating back to its opening in 1923 as part of the West Side Tennis Club, continues to captivate audiences with its intimate atmosphere and iconic Tudor-style architecture. It has become an increasingly popular summer concert venue in New York City, with more than 30 concerts taking place at the venue throughout 2024.
Billboard recognized the stadium’s storied history, pointing to the fact that the venue has hosted numerous musical legends and icons, including Bob Dylan, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and The Beatles, who performed their very first stadium concert at Forest Hills Stadium in August 1964.
Originally constructed as a tennis stadium, Forest Hills Stadium began hosting concerts in the 1960s and reopened as a concerned venue in 2013 after falling into disuse in the late 1990s.
Billboard noted that the venue harmonizes with the “surrounding neighborhood’s charm,” providing an “intimate atmosphere” that makes concerts feel personal for fans.
The publication further noted that the venue has drawn a number of big-name artists since reopening as a concert venue in August 2013 with a Mumford and Sons concert, citing performances by Ed Sheeran and Hozier, with the Irish singer marking a record-breaking four-night run of sold-out concerts at the venue last summer.
Promoter Mike Luba, who brought concerts back to the venue in 2013, said the recognition from Billboard helps validate the stadium’s mission “to bring love and joy to Queens and NYC.”
“Sharing live music creates memories, bonds friendships, and gives people of all ages a chance to enjoy a non-digital experience and commune,” Luba said in a statement. “Forest Hills Stadium was designed more than a century ago to provide a magical setting that delivers magical moments. The entire Forest Hills Stadium team remains acutely aware that we are stewards to a singular venue and its history.”
Meanwhile, Billboard also named Madison Square Garden as the Top East Coast Arena in its new ranking of the best music venues for 2025. The publication also named MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as the Top East Coast Stadium.
Red Rocks in Morrison, Colorado, and the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles were named as the Top Central and West Coast Amphitheaters respectively in the new ranking.
