Peter Frampton, left, is scheduled to perform Sept. 12 at the new music venue — to be called Showcase Live! — planned for land beside Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Soul luminary Al Green is on tap for Nov. 21.

AP / JASON DECROW

FOXBORO The owners of the New England Patriots and the National Amusements chain yesterday unveiled plans for a live-music venue next to Gillette Stadium.

The venue, to be known as Showcase Live!, will be part of the second phase of the retail and entertainment development known as Patriot Place, on land surrounding the stadium. It’s also the first live-entertainment venture for National Amusements, the company that runs the Showcase Cinemas chain and that will operate the Showcase Cinema De Lux in the same building.

Shari Redstone, president of National Amusements, opened the announcement ceremony yesterday at Gillette Stadium by describing the new venue as an “entertainment destination” that would draw visitors from the region and nationwide.

Robert Kraft, founder and CEO of The Kraft Group, praised Redstone for bringing a shot of energy to “an industry that’s gotten a little tired,” and son Jonathan Kraft, chief operating officer of The Kraft Group, recounted his days of seeing live music in the nightclubs of Boston. While he enjoyed the music, he said the “experience” left a lot to be desired. He said the goal of the new venue was “bringing the urban entertainment experience . . . to the suburbs where the people live.” He compared the new venue to “some of the great intimate rooms in Las Vegas,” touting its planned small capacity and excellent sound system.

The Showcase Live! venue will seat 500 people in a dinner-club banquette setting, or will accommodate 1,000 people when all the seating is taken out, or anything in between, depending on the show, the three said.

On nights when there is no live entertainment, the venue can be used for private or corporate functions, and on Patriot game days, subscrip-

tions will be available to allow fans to watch the games on large screens.

The venue will be booked by The Blue Note Entertainment Group, which runs the club of the same name and B.B. King’s, in New York. Blue Note’s Steven Bensusan promised big-name acts in an intimate, small-club setting. He raved about the chance to build a venue from scratch, with all the amenities that audiences and big-name entertainers want.

Asked whether the small venue would have to charge exorbitant ticket prices to book such big names, Bensusan said “the artists understand where they’re going to perform, and they want to be kind to their audiences, and we’ll make it work.”

So far, the announced schedule at Showcase Live! reads like the schedule at the second rooms of venues such as the Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun casinos in Connecticut or the Twin River complex in Lincoln. Chaka Khan will open the new room on Aug. 18. Highlights of the rest of the schedule include Boyz II Men Aug. 20; Squeeze will come in Aug. 26; Savion Glover Aug. 29, and Peter Frampton Sept. 12. Jazz legend Dave Brubeck will play in December, and soul luminaries Al Green (Nov. 21) and Isaac Hayes (Feb. 20, 2009) are booked as well.

Yesterday’s announcement schedule got a shot of star power when Patriots coach Bill Belichick and players Tedy Bruschi and Larry Izzo stopped by (in workout gear) and echoed Jonathan Kraft’s remarks by touting the convenient location and ample parking of the new music venue, compared to the hubbub of Boston.

rmassimo@projo.com