CHICAGO (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) – According to The Chicago Tribune Texas-based promoters C3 Presents closed a deal to exclusively book concerts at the 4,200-capacity Congress Theater. This may make the well known Lollapalooza promoter start to be a true contender in the concert game.
This is the second major deal for C3 Presents in the Chicago market recently.
In an earlier story CelebrityAccess ran in February, C3 partnered with the Philadelphia facility management firm SMG with a five-year contract with the Chicago Park District to book Soldier Field. This is also the fourth year that C3 Presents will produce the Lollapalooza Festival in Grant Park and they are announcing their line up for the festival this month.
C3 partner Charlie Walker wants to "expand opportunities" in Chicago. The 82 year old venue that C3 Presents will now book for has been host to bands such as Nine Inch Nails and Prince.
"We love this market and we want a bigger presence," Walker said. He added that C3 will open a Chicago office in the next few months and will look at striking booking deals with more venues.
This gain for the company will surely expand the now competitive playing field between C3 and Chicago’s two other concert-promoters Live Nation and Jam Productions.
The deal was a surprise to Live Nation, which has four concerts booked at the Congress in the next three months. "We had no idea," said Live Nation executive Scott Gelman. "I guess we’ll have to make some phone calls." According to The Chicago Tribune
Jam Productions also has shows booked at the Chicago Venue.
Walker said the deal did not preclude Jam and Live Nation from booking shows in the theater. "I don’t know if the city’s big enough for three major promoters, but everyone has a niche," he said. "We’re not exclusionary. We control the calendar [at the Congress] but if another promoter brought something in that works for us, we’d consider it." –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
