There is possibly only a few days left to sign the petition and support the family-owned promoter company, Nederlander Concerts, in their fight to win venue ownership of the Greek Theatre against their opponent, American entertainment company, Live Nation.
The Nederlander Concerts Co. has been operating The Greek Theatre for already 39 years. Nederlander Concerts Co. wants to renew their contract with the City in order to continue bringing concerts, celebrities, music, local artists, food, and fun to the community of Los Angeles who attend the events at The Greek Theatre. According to Los Angeles Times, “That company, Nederlander, bid to continue running the theater with a new partner, AEG Live. Nederlander representatives argue that the selection process has been flawed, with too little information provided for the public and too little time to review it. They also contend their bid is better for the city.”
Live Nation Entertainment will compete with Nederlander in effort to obtain ownership of the LA venue. They have high hopes to make a 20-year deal with the City that will ultimately bring about a higher revenue. Live Nation has a leading chance in becoming the new manager of The Greek Theatre, according to Pollstar: “Live Nation was revealed as the winning bidder Sept. 26 on a Request For Proposals for a new contract, with related documents being made available for public review on Sept. 30, the day before the RAP board is to accept the recommendation to make the reward and begin negotiations on a new agreement.”
Associates of Nederlander Concerts have stated various offers—like historic venue renovations, a guaranteed millions of dollars rent, top booking acts, and so on—for The Greek Theater and the City if their contract is renewed. Live Nation also promises beneficial changes to better the Los Angeles community. According to Pollstar, “Nederlander partnered with AEG Live on the proposal, which an initial review of documents shows offered more in cash and a revenue sharing arrangement than did Live Nation, which offered a “Greek Theatre Community Trust,” a fund controlled by Live Nation “for the purpose of irrevocably receiving funds generated through a ‘special ticket sales program.'”
Both Nederlander Concerts and Live Nation have shared with the City what they have in mind of doing for the venue; however, an agreement has not been made and the fight over control of The Greek Theatre continues: LA Times states, “After a lengthy hearing, the parks commission decided to postpone any decision until next week so commissioners and the public have more time to get and review information about the plans put forward by the companies. The existing agreement to run the Greek expires at the end of October 2015.”