LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Following outcry from dozens of members of the community who oppose a change in the operators of the iconic Greek Theatre, the city's Recreation and Parks Commission has put off a decision in choosing a new operator for the venue.
Nederlander Concerts and their new partners AEG Live currently oversee the theatre, but Nederlander's contract is due to expire and rival promoter Live Nation has submitted a bid to operate the venue on behalf of the city.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Live Nation submitted a superior bid to operate the venue, promising a direct payment of $55 million to the city, along with the promise of more shows and a guaranteed investment in the venue of $106 million over the 10 years. Nederlander and AEG promised $54,996,000 in direct payment to the city and investment in the Greek of $96 million over the term of the contract.
While Live Nation's bid was slightly stronger, Nederlander pointed to their successful stewardship of the venue over the past decade, which was described by General Manager Mike Shull as "Recreation and Parks’ highest revenue-producing non-golf concession, generating $22.8 million in gross receipts and paying $1.6 million … to the city."
Nederlander and AEG also noted that the recommendations to change concessionaires was abrupt, only being revealed last Friday, leaving the two companies without sufficient time to make all documents for the bid available to the commission.
As well, a number of community members and groups have thrown their support behind the Nederlander bid, with spokespersons from Linda Demmers, President of the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council; Chris Laib, President of the Los Feliz Improvement Association; Gerry Hans, President of Friends of Griffith Park and other groups speaking on behalf of Nederlander at Wednesday's hearings.
The Recreation and Parks Commission has said that it will reconvene to consider the matter on Oct. 9th. – Staff Writers
