WM Phoenix Open kicks off with first-ever concert at 16th hole

The WM Phoenix Open kicked off Saturday night with music at the 16th hole, a new event that organizers will become a new signature part of the golfing week.

PHOENIX - The WM Phoenix Open kicked off Saturday night with music at the 16th hole, a new event that organizers will become a new signature part of the golfing week.

"One of the most exciting holes in all of golf, and now we’ve transformed it into a music experience like no other," said tournament chairmen Michael Golding.

They assembled a stage on the Par 3 fairway, seats surrounding the stage 360 degrees.

"The stage we're standing on right now rotates," Golding said.

The Saturday night concert is just the beginning. Golding says it took the thunderbirds 5 years of planning to build and dismantle a stage in days, and they believe the coliseum will become an iconic spot for musicians to play.

The unique 12,000 seat venue could one day be on par with music venues like Wrigley Field or even Fenway Park.

"I think every year we'll get a big music act to kick down the doors to that year's Open," Golding said. "I think it will be a stop that everybody in music will say they played at the coliseum."

They say the Saturday night success proves this can only get bigger every year.

"Now we’ve shown that we can do this, and I think it’s going to draw the attention of the nation," Golding said. "We have the best weather. We have a great week of golf and the entire experience is here, it just starts a little earlier."

On Sunday they’ll tear the stage down because the main event is still ahead.

"We’ll be ready," he said. "Practice round on Monday."