The Colorado Springs City Council early Wednesday overwhelmingly gave the green light to an 8,000-seat outdoor amphitheater that a local entertainment company said will attract top-name concerts and performers to the city’s north side but that nearby homeowners feared would bring unwanted noise, parking and traffic to their neighborhoods.

The council’s action followed six hours of passionate discussion from project supporters and opponents and took place at nearly 1 a.m. as part of a marathon meeting that began at 9 a.m. Tuesday and included a handful of other controversial items.

Notes Live, a Springs-based entertainment company, proposed the $40 million amphitheater, which it wants to build on 18 acres southeast of Interstate 25 and North Gate Boulevard in the nearly 200-acre Polaris Pointe commercial development.

Notes Live envisions the amphitheater, to be called The Sunset, as a world-class performance venue that would include amenities such as VIP stadium seating and luxury fireplace suites.

It would be in use about 100 days a year and host 30 to 40 big-name concerts annually, mainly from May to September, company officials said. The Sunset also could be used for weddings, graduations, religious services and other events, company officials said.

The Sunset, with the Air Force Academy and Pikes Peak as majestic backdrops, would provide a high-end entertainment experience that supporters say would rival Red Rocks and Fiddler’s Green, longtime outdoor venues in the Denver area.

Fiddler’s Green and Red Rocks, however, are more than an hour away and The Sunset would allow residents to enjoy concerts without going to Denver while they spend their money in the Springs and pump money into the local economy. The company estimates an annual economic impact of $100 million from concert-goers who attend shows, eat at restaurants, and stay at hotels, among other spending.

The proposal received initial approval from the City Planning Commission in November.

At the time, nearby residents objected to what they said would be noise wafting into their neighborhoods and backyards on summer nights, especially on weekends when concerts would be allowed to run until 11:30 p.m., under the Notes Live plan. Residents also worry about concert-goers parking in front of their homes and vehicles clogging Voyager Parkway, a main traffic artery in the area.

After the Planning Commission approval, residents appealed that decision to the City Council.

But in a series of decisions, the City Council ultimately voted 8-1 to reject the residents’ appeal. Councilman Dave Donelson was the lone opponent to the project, while other council members — acknowledging residents’ concerns — said they expect the amphitheater to become an attractive amenity to a growing city.

“In the end, we’ll all benefit from it,” Councilman Bill Murray said.

Notes Live has said it hopes to open The Sunset in 2024.

Check back with gazette.com and Thursday’s print edition of The Gazette for more information.