SAN DIEGO (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Several music-oriented bloggers in have been speculating that Live Nations' San Diego House of Blues may be facing closure if business at the venue doesn't improve.
The San Diego Reader has been leading the rumor charge and has quoted unnamed music industry source as saying: "I heard that if they don’t have a rapid turnaround [in business] by March they might be closing." Another unnamed source quoted by the Reader hadn't heard about the supposed March deadline, but stated "I did hear that three of their clubs were in trouble: Cleveland, San Diego, and Atlantic City. And they already gave up [control of] the one in Atlantic City."
Live Nation has vigorously denied that these unattributed quotes were accurate.
"Anybody who talks about a deadline, or that the [SD House of Blues] is closing down, is just not telling the truth," Nick Masters, president of Live Nation booking told the Reader. "When you have five-dollar-a-gallon gas and an economy that is in the toilet, every [city] is struggling. It is not just exclusive to San Diego."
While Masters wouldn't comment on the performance of the San Diego HoB, he was willing to note to the Reader that overall, the overall San Diego Business Unit had "struggled" last year. Live Nation's holdings in the highly-competitive market include: The Cricket amphitheater, SDSU's Cox Arena and Open Air Theatre, and the Pala Casino concert series.
"As a company we were getting used to the combining of our San Diego assets," added Masters. "It took a little bit of time to understand how to treat all that property.… We have better results this year, and we are doing better in San Diego, period."
Meanwhile, the venue chain's 11th location is slated to open in Houston in August. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
– CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
