Arena Market: Costa Rica

In Central America, Costa Rica has become a must-stop destination for international artists touring between South America, Mexico, and the United States. Parque Viva, the country’s leading arena and entertainment facility, has plans to draw even more artists and fans to the biodiverse nation.

Located 20 minutes outside of the capital city of San José, Parque Viva boasts a racetrack, a 19,000-capacity amphitheatre, and a 14,000-cap event centre, making the complex configurable for all kinds of events. With a massive plot of disused land directly next to its current facilities, general manager Pedro Abreu reveals a massive new entertainment district for the country is on its way.

“This could be a game-changer for the country,” he says. “The country is very well-known for its tourism, nature, and beaches. We have a lot of tourism from all over the world, especially the United States and Europe, but we also want to welcome our neighbours.

“If we have this event district, our neighbours from Central America or South America can come and enjoy a concert, then go to the beaches or the volcanoes or everything else Costa Rica has to offer.”

The first step in the plan’s execution is to facilitate stronger transport links, with direct highway access goals to be finalised by next year. Once connected, Abreu says the expansion project will hopefully begin in Q4 2025. Future endeavours could also include a new stadium, designed with music specifically in mind as opposed to the sports-purposed existing stadiums, but no formal plans have been announced.

“We have a culture that people like to go and see live events.”

Costa Rica is certainly hungry for live music, with Coldplay kicking off their latest global trek with two nights at the national stadium in 2022 and Karol G selling a record- breaking 104,686 tickets for her two March stadium shows.

Parque Viva hosted a record 31 concerts in 2023, including Louis Tomlinson, Steve Aoki, Interpol, Air Supply, and a raft of Latin and Mexican acts.

The only roofed venue of its size, Abreu says the indoor portion of Parque Viva is set apart from its competitors as it can host shows during Q3 and Q4 when the country is primarily waterlogged. For concerts with capacities between 3,000-19,000, he estimates that it hosts up to 85% of the shows in the nation.

Though Costa Rica is challenged by a lack of indoor venues and a steep entertainment tax – more than one-third of ticket sales go to taxes and copyrights, one of the highest in the region – the fan desire to see live music of every calibre has only heightened.

“We have a culture that people like to go and see live events. Culture here is to go and see those artists and to spend money on events of that quality,” he says.