Local bands and music fans always seem to have one nagging gripe about Ames: How are you supposed to see live music if you aren’t 21?

Unlike Des Moines or Iowa City, where minors can enter most clubs and venues to see shows, a majority of Ames venues don’t consistently offer all-ages concerts.

Jay Heydlauff, owner of local sound and lighting company Pro Sound-Ames, recognized this problem and is hoping to change it with the opening of a new all-ages venue, tentatively titled The Warehouse.

Located south of Ames on Elwood Drive, the building can be somewhat elusive, mainly due to the fact that it is tucked away towards the back of Black’s Heritage Farm. Don’t let the horses steadily chomping hay at the side of the building and the rows of silos in the front fool you, though — this place is the real deal.

It isn’t merely a thrown-together makeshift shack big enough for a band and 50 of its closest friends. The Warehouse is a wide-open, 500-capacity (Heydlauff’s rough estimate may be an underestimated by the looks of the place) venue with a tri-level 30-by-40 foot stage and an enormous PA system to boot.

“What Ames has always been missing is an all-ages venue,” Heydlauff says. “Anything between People’s and [Stephens Auditorium] — we just haven’t been able to fill that need until now.”

The Warehouse will not be serving alcohol, a factor that might discourage older concert patrons, but Heydlauff doesn’t see it as a potential problem.

Justin Means, area concert promoter and one of the founders of One Stop Band Shop agrees, saying there just isn’t enough to do in Ames for minors.

“Almost all of Iowa State isn’t old enough to drink,” Means points out. “What are these kids doing, where are they going? These are kids looking for places to go.”

With the exception of remaining soundproofing duties, the Warehouse is ready for rock. The first show is slated for May 3, courtesy of One Stop Band Shop, who has booked eight bands, including regional favorite Oh My God, for the initial kickoff.

Tentative dates are scheduled for the beginning of June, and Heydlauff says he would like to see two to three shows booked per month.

Heydlauff himself will not be doing any of the booking, but instead will lend the building and equipment out to promoters such as One Stop.

Means and company will be handling a large portion of the booking at the Warehouse, and hope to eventually lure some of bigger names into Ames.

“The biggest thing is to try to get national acts to pull their buses up front,” Means explains.

Heydlauff says he had one motive in mind when he decided to make the Warehouse into a full-blown live music venue, which had been used as a place to hosting raves for the last few years, and that was to provide an outlet for local musicians. That is why he provides rehearsal time at the Warehouse for only $25 a session and is willing to negotiate with any promoter who would like to put on a show there.

“What we are looking to do is to promote local music,” Heydlauff says. “That’s what the place is about.”