'It's very, very exciting!' Caesars Windsor counting down days to full capacity concerts

The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor will once again be filled with music as concerts return to the venue next week.

The Tenors will be the first to perform live on May 5 without any capacity restrictions since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of shows.

“We're calling it the grand reopening because that's exactly what it is,” says Caesars Windsor director of entertainment Tim Trombley. “We’re very excited to have our community return to shows here in the award winning Colosseum.”

The last show to take place at the 5,000 seat venue was on Dec. 11, when REO Speedwagon performed to a limited capacity crowd.

One week later, Caesars Windsor announced that the remaining shows that month had been cancelled due to renewed pandemic restrictions across Ontario.

The Colosseum is ready to re-welcome concert-goers ahead of its summer line-up in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, April 25, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)

Before that, The Colosseum sat silent since March 2020.

“It's really kind of hard to even comprehend that when this all started to think that it would go on this long,” Trombley says. “Everybody's been kind of knocking the rust off their boots and getting ready to get going again. It's very, very exciting.”

Trombley says there is nothing like the feeling of a live music experience and that staff and officials are thrilled to showcase the headline lineup.

“We've always been extremely proud here at Caesars Windsor of what The Colosseum represents to our community and the experience that it provides,” Trombley explains. “Music is a large part of our social fabric and that communal feeling of being in a venue with 5,000 people and just getting uplifted for that hour and a half, two hours. It's something that we really take a lot of pride in.”

Tourism Windsor-Essex Pelee Island officials say the return of live entertainment at Caesars Windsor represents another step forward in the reopening of the border community.

“We want to see the return of the US visitors to this market,” says TWEPI CEO Gordon Orr. “It's very encouraging.”

Orr tells CTV News Caesars Windsor is the region’s number one tourist attraction without question.

“It's our convention center. It's our largest hotel complex. It's got restaurants. It's got a 5,000 seat Colosseum. It's got gaming,” he says. “It is a complex that does draw visitation and when that's open and operational, that means more people are visiting this region and that's better for our entire community.”

The Colosseum is ready to re-welcome concert-goers ahead of its summer line-up in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, April 25, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)

The upcoming Colosseum schedule includes:

May:

• The Tenors – Thursday, May 5
• Avril Lavigne – Thursday, May 12
• Steve Martin & Martin Short – Thursday, May 26
• Brad Paisley – Saturday, May 29

June:

• Straight No Chaser – Thursday, June 2
• Paul Anka – Thursday, June 9
• Chelsea Handler – Saturday, June 18
• Iliza Shlesinger – Friday, June 24

July:

• The Black Crowes – Tuesday, July 5
• Gabriel Iglesias – Friday, July 8
• Sarah McLachlan – Saturday, July 9
• David Gray – Thursday, July 14
• Shinedown – Saturday, July 23
• Live to Rock – Thursday, July 28

For a list of all upcoming shows, visit caesarswindsor.com for details and ticket information.

Trombley suggests arriving early and to stay tuned, saying this is just the beginning of live entertainment this summer.

“We're working with a couple of community partners that will be staging a show here on Canada Day July 1. I can't say who it is other than the fact that it's a legendary electronic music DJ, who's kind of one of the pioneers who's still having hits today,” Trombley adds. “That'll be announced next week. And again, that show is something very special for Canada Day July 1. So stay tuned.”

Caesars Windsor in Windsor, Ont. on Monday, April 25, 2022. (Chris Campbell/CTV Windsor)