LOS ANGELES, Oct. 7, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nederlander Concerts, the premier family-owned West Coast promoter, garnered over 12,000 signatures in 24 hours on a grass roots petition to support the organizations bid to continue operating the iconic Greek Theatre.
Nederlander has operated, managed and booked the award-winning Greek Theatre since 1976, winning widespread community support and the Pollstar industry award for the last 10 years running.
Nederlander has teamed up with AEG Live for the future management rights, presenting a proposal that offers $6,250,000 more rent revenue to the City of Los Angeles in the guaranteed 10 years than Live Nation, and $17,500,000 in more rent revenue to the city, if extended. Other features of the Nederlander/AEG Live proposal include:
- A comprehensive community plan that involves a diverse group of leading non-profit organizations.
- 10% vs 8% percentage rent when the venue performs well – potentially $20,000,000 more revenue to the City of Los Angeles than from Live Nation.
- A complete historically sensitive renovation of the venue, led by award winning architect Brenda Levin (Griffith Observatory, Dodger Stadium, City Hall, etc.), including the historic stage, restaurants, landscaped plaza and new seats.
The most recent renewal with the City of Los Angeles will expire in October of 2015 and after a Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued an initial recommendation was made for Live Nation/Ticketmaster to take over its management. That possibility has caused a massive public outcry about the decision and concerns about the underlying process.
Due to the outpouring of community support, Nederlander created WeAreTheGreek.com as a platform to give the public information about this issue and how they can take action. The site also links to the Change.org petition which continues to grow.
"We are humbled by the overwhelming support from our fans, community, neighbors and industry," said Rena Wasserman, the Greek Theatre's General Manager. "This is more than just a venue to us, and we have a vision for the future of the venue and hope to continue operating it for many years to come."
Located in the picturesque tree-enclosed setting of Griffith Park, The Greek Theatre is an internationally renowned venue presenting a wide variety of headline entertainment. The 5,800 capacity venue has been named North America's "Best Small Outdoor Venue of the Year" fourteen times and has played host to some of the biggest names in entertainment, from pop to classical, reggae to rock. The venue has even been the backdrop for blockbuster movies, including a starring role in 'Get Him to The Greek'. The Greek Theatre has received landmark status from the city of Los Angeles and is known for presenting some of the most memorable live performances in music history.
About Nederlander Concerts
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Nederlander Concerts promotes and produces a wide range of quality live entertainment across the Western United States. This boutique event promotion firm exclusively operates and programs the most coveted and awarded small to mid-size venues including The Greek Theatre and the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, the Santa Barbara Bowl, City National Grove of Anaheim, City National Civic of San Jose and Vina Robles Amphitheatre in Paso Robles. In addition, the company promotes events at third party arenas, theatres and clubs up and down the coast including the Galen Center at the University of Southern California, San Diego Civic, RIMAC Arena at UC San Diego and Raley Field in Sacramento. Visit www.nederlanderconcerts.com for more information.
About AEG
AEG is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, owns or is affiliated with a collection of companies including over 100 of the world's preeminent facilities such as STAPLES Center (Los Angeles, CA), StubHub Center (Carson, CA), Best Buy Theater (Times Square, New York), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), Allphones Arena (Sydney, Australia), Brisbane Convention and Entertainment Center and The O2 arena and entertainment district (London, England). Developed by AEG, L.A. LIVE is a 4 million square foot / $3 billion downtown Los Angeles sports, & entertainment district featuring Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE, Club Nokia, the Regal Cinemas L.A. LIVE Stadium 14 theater, 19 restaurants the GRAMMY Museum and a 54-story, 1001-room convention "headquarters" hotel/destination. In addition to overseeing privately held management shares of the Los Angeles Lakers, assets of AEG Sports include franchises such as the LA Kings, LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo and the Amgen Tour of California cycling stage race. Along with AEG Facilities, other global divisions include AEG Live, the world's second largest concert promotion and touring companies comprised of touring, festival, exhibition, broadcast, merchandise and special event divisions and AEG Global Partnerships, responsible for worldwide sales and servicing of sponsorships, naming rights and other strategic partnerships. In 2010, AEG launched its AEG 1EARTH environmental program featuring the industry's first sustainability report while in 2011, AEG introduced AXS a comprehensive entertainment platform serving as the company's primary consumer brand including AXS Ticketing which provides fans the opportunity to purchase tickets directly from their favorite venues via a user-friendly ticketing interface, Examiner.com and the AXS TV network. For additional information, visit www.aegworldwide.com.