(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — After 16 years of hosting nearly 2,400 performances, the Stargazers Theater & Event Center is officially on the market. Since the beginning of Stargazers, an important focus for the co-owners John and Cindy Hooton is to spotlight the amount of talent in Southern Colorado, like 'SOAPDISH'. They are a band in Colorado Springs that plays a high-energy mix of power-pop and rock music from the 1980s to the present. 'SOAPDISH' was voted “Best Local Band” Gold in 2023 and “Best Local Band” Bronze in 2022 by Colorado Springs voters. Courtesy of 'SOAPDISH' "We've worked to do a nice balance of different genres: blues, rock, classic rock," John Hooton said. " We do a lot of tribute bands like Eagles tribute, Beatles tribute, Led Zeppelin tribute, you name it we do it." Like many, the unique building caught the couple's attention and it was love at first sight. "One day in 2008, my son came home and said, 'Dad, your venues for sale,' I said, what are you talking about? He goes, 'You know that round dome that you've been kind of looking at just sideways as you drive on the way to Home Depot,' and I said, okay, Cindy let's go take a look, we walked in and Cindy looked up and went, 'We're going to call it Stargazers," John said. The dome-shaped structure was originally constructed in 1969 as a United Artists Cinema 150 Cinerama Theater, but the Hooton's quickly learned the perfect use for the space was to fill it with music. Stargazers Theatre and Event Center was built in 1969 as a United Artist Cinema 150 Cinerama Theater. Designed by the fascinating architect, Vincent G. Raney, Stargazers is one of the few remaining examples of his work of that period. "There's something magical that happens when a round dome gets filled with an amazing audience and an amazing band," John explained. "The lights go down and then the show lights come up and the sound and it's just magic." For the last 16 years, the couple have worked to fulfill their mission statement of 'Bringing great entertainment to great audiences, while being a warm and welcoming gathering place for the community. "Back in 2008, there really wasn't much of a music scene in Colorado Springs, there had been but it kind of faded away," John explained. "We've lived in the Los Angeles area, the Phenix area, the Dallas area, and visited many cities and there was always an intense music scene." After a successful career, the couple is now strumming into their next big adventure. "We love music, not just to listen to, but I play guitar," John said. "I've been writing songs since I was 17. By the way, (Friday, Sept. 19) is my 71st birthday, and that is one of the reasons that we decided to sell. I'm 71, Cindy will be 65 next month and we've had very intense careers and we've loved every minute of all of them, but it's time." As the Hootons prepare to pass the baton, they intend to keep the 500-seat theater in the music business. "The highest and best use is not condos on this property," John explained. "The highest and best use is as a music theater, and I think we've shown that it can be done and done extremely well." The Hootons have booked events at Stargazers through New Year's Eve and said they will continue to run the concert hall if the building hasn't sold by the end of the year. If members of the community want to purchase a ticket at Stargazers you can visit their website here. You can also learn more about 'SOAPDISH' by visiting their website here. "There is starting to be some serious interest, people are saying, are you kidding, that one's for sale? Why? Is the competition putting you out of business?" John said. "Heck no. The competition is bringing Colorado Springs up in the music community. You can't swing a guitar in Austin, Texas without hitting a music venue. This is just the beginning of becoming Colorado's premier music city and a nationwide music city. That's my story and I'm sticking to it."