Situated in a leafy and tranquil Queens neighborhood, Forest Hills Stadium has been hosting concerts and other live events in its unique, horseshoe-shaped space since it was constructed in 1923.
With the new season set to kick off on June 6, promoter Tiebreaker Productions is continuing to honor the historic venue’s legacy via the past decade-plus of time and money renovating the structure, upgrading the stage and soundproofing a live event space that’s seen myriad storied acts play there including The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Jimi Hendrix, Talking Heads, The Police, The Rolling Stones and Nina Simone.
Since having his organization take over managing the stadium, Tiebreaker Productions partner Mike Luba has continued that musical legacy with recent years seeing the likes of Dolly Parton, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, L.L. Cool J, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Chic and Earth, Wind Fire grace the stage.
Along the way, an economic study of the 2025 concert season revealed the stadium generated $42.5 million in annual economic activity for the local Forest Hills community, New York City and New York State.
Luba is rightfully proud of the new life Tiebreaker has breathed into this unique structure and the surrounding neighborhood.
“Due to technology and the music business getting more pro and adult—the shows are better-run,” Luba explained. “It’s not necessarily us. In the glory days, there was no staging and no real PA. There were just stacks of random speakers that blasted and you hoped it worked. The sound technology now is so advanced. We can go seat by seat and we stay within the code, which is a pretty restrictive, tough-to-follow codethat is really not applied to anybody else. But there’s a whole other thing going on.”
That whole other thing was a very vocal minority of the Forest Hills Garden Corporation, the local homeowners’ association, that had been complaining in recent years about decibel levels. The acrimony came to a head last year when the FHGC filed lawsuits against the City of New York (including the New York City Police Department), the West Side Tennis Club (which owns the venue) and Tiebreaker Productions.
While the city agreed to a $150,000 settlement with FHGC this past March, litigation against the other parties continues. In the meantime, recent developments within the HOA left Luba optimistic about future developments.
“The neighborhood itself ran an alternate slate for the first time in the 103-year history of the Gardens, and they won in a clean sweep,” Luba said. “Their first order of business was to clearly stop suing the cops, who were there to protect them, so they went through that. We’re hopeful and ready to put everything to bed with them whenever they’re ready. Lawsuits are still pending, which is kind of a drag. But the court knows that we are engaged in discussions with our neighbors and my hopes are high that it’s just a matter of time [before everything gets settled].”
In the meantime, the 2026 summer season represents a broad swath of music that are a mix of returning acts and first-time performers. Hometown hero Paul Simon (July 8 and 9) follows up his last rain-soaked visit back in 2016.
Source: LI Press
