SARASOTA — With 5,000 veterans already laid to rest at Sarasota National Cemetery since its opening in 2009, it is a “garden of stone that keeps growing,” said Steve Muro, a Veterans Affairs undersecretary.

Muro spoke at the groundbreaking Monday for Patriot Plaza, a 2,800-seat, glass-covered amphitheater at the cemetery off Clark Road south of Sarasota.