Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: In 1997 , the site of the concert and 1400 a surrounding was purchased by Alan Gerry for the purpose of creating the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts .
Simplified: In 1997 , the concert place and 1,400 surrounding acres were bought by Alan Gerry , and have become the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts .