(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
Palace Sports and Entertainment (PS&E) and Hillside Productions have entered into a cooperative agreement regarding the approximately 7,000-seat Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights, MI. Hillside will work with PS&E regarding all booking and marketing for the venue, The agreement provides for PS&E and Hillside to be responsible for all event bookings, marketing, season sales, group sales, sponsorships and public relations for the amphitheatre. The venue's seating capacity is comprised of a covered pavilion with approximately 4,200 fixed seats and lawn seating for approximately 3,000.
Since 2000, the Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre at Freedom Hill has seen more than $20 million in venue enhancements. Additionally, a new roof for the pavilion and a sound absorbing containment wall is being added this year. These additional improvements have made the venue a legitimate major concert facility.
"We are very pleased to be working with Hillside, and are looking to extend the many successes we have achieved at our other venues to the Jerome- Duncan Ford Theatre at Freedom Hill," said Tom Wilson, president and CEO of PS&E. "With its many significant enhancements in recent years, it is essentially a brand new facility. Combining this with all the services and amenities people have grown to expect over the years at our venues, we are looking to take the experience to a new level."
PS&E and Hillside plan to increase the variety of entertainment at Jerome- Duncan Ford Theatre, which will provide the entire metro-Detroit area with an improved summer entertainment mix. Working together with PS&E, which is already the ninth largest promoter in the world, Hillside and PS&E are targeting 30-40 shows for the amphitheatre's schedule in 2005.
"With the successful development of the Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre at Freedom Hill, summer concert goers in Macomb County will now have a facility capable of offering the types of world class entertainment they have come to expect from comparable venues in Oakland County," continued Wilson. "In 1990, when we began with DTE Energy Music Theatre, our goal was to revolutionize the unique world of outdoor entertainment by extending the many successes we achieved when we opened The Palace. Four years later, our vista was broadened when we added Meadow Brook. We are very pleased that we are now able to contribute and enhance the world of outdoor entertainment in Macomb County as well."
In addition to the venue's physical improvements, immediate enhancements planned for the facility will take place behind the scenes with the implementation of guest services methods that have won the praise from patrons at The Palace, DTE Energy Music Theatre and Meadow Brook Music Festival. Gary Roncelli, co-owner of Hillside and owner of Roncelli, Inc., one of the areas largest builders and developers said, "From the very beginning, our guiding principal has been our unwavering commitment to excellence, and as such, it is indeed fitting that these two organizations, Hillside and PS&E will now be working together."
Joe Vicari, co-owner of Hillside, as well as the Andiamo chain of Italian restaurants added, "It is very satisfying that our vision and goal to bring a world class, outdoor entertainment venue to Macomb County, has indeed become a reality, and we are very pleased that we will now be working together with Palace Sports and Entertainment to continue that goal."
"We welcome the arrangement that has transpired and we are excited to see the growth of the Jerome-Duncan Ford Theatre at Freedom Hill," said S.K. Paul of Jerome-Duncan Ford. "We are looking forward to a long and successful relationship with our new association. We are pleased to be involved with an organization with such a fine reputation and successful track record as Palace Sports and Entertainment." –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
