Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

"It was really Cynthia's idea to build a facility where families could come and enjoy the fine arts," he said. "Her thinking was a small pavilion that featured fine arts, symphonies and ballets and could be an amenity for families in The Woodlands."

The initial plan called for about a 2,000-seat facility, MacDonald said. But George Mitchell conceived of attracting contemporary performances and met with Alan Becker, then promoter of Pace Concerts, which was one of the largest concert promoters in the country.

"[Becker] convinced them if they wanted to do the Jimmy Buffets of the world, that they really needed to get closer to 10,000 seats," MacDonald said. "That's how it went from 2,000 to 9,700."

The Pavilion opened on April 27, 1990 with a free performance by the Houston Symphony Orchestra. The following night, the Pavilion hosted its first contemporary, ticketed performance: Frank Sinatra.

In order to compete in the growing Houston concert market, Mitchell and Pavilion executives soon looked to expand seating capacity. The first Pavilion expansion occurred in 1994, MacDonald said, when the reserved seating area grew from 2,700 to 4,656, while lawn seating expanded from 7,000 to 8,344 for a total capacity of 13,000.

Six years later, the Pavilion underwent another expansion, when lawn seating increased by 3,000 to bring capacity to 16,000. The expanded capacity has helped the Pavilion grow to one of the world's most popular and successful live music venues. In 2010, the Pavilion was ranked by "Pollstar" magazine, the leading concert industry publication, second in the world in total ticket sales. It was also nominated by "Pollstar" that year for Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue. In 2011, the Pavilion ranked fifth in the world in ticket sales, MacDonald said.

The Pavilion operates as a non-profit organization, MacDonald said. Profits generated from its events fund the organization's efforts to bring the arts to area youth, such as the Fine Arts Education day, when the Houston Symphony Orchestra puts on a free performance for all Conroe ISD fourth grade students.

"Often times that is the first symphony the students have ever attended," MacDonald said. "Our hope is that after seeing the symphony, they will take up music for a career."