The Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside. (2011/File Photo)
There’s big news coming out of the Riverside City Council meeting tonight–colleague Alicia Robinson is at the meeting, reporting that the city is in talks with mega-promoter LiveNation to run the Fox Performing Arts Center, the Riverside Municipal Auditorium and the Fox Entertainment Plaza, which includes the black box, exhibit and event space.
Alicia is Tweeting from the meeting that the city should have contract in 4-6 weeks for Fox operator. It will be a three-year-long contract. If the Live Nation deal falls through, the city may still talk with Comcast-Spectacor or VenuWorks.
She’s reporting that the four smaller operators were shut out from the interview process. They included McCoy Rigby Entertainment, which brought theatrical entertainment to the Fox for a season and books the La Mirada Theatre, Golden Crown Productions, which books a number of concerts in Temecula Valley Wine Country, Theatrical Arts International, which booked the California Theatre of the Performing Arts in San Bernardino, and Swanson and Associates.
Alicia also reported that the council directed city to negotiate at least one local person in management with the Live Nation deal.
Here’s what you need to know about Live Nation:
- They’re HUGE. They bring in top entertainment around the world. They have deals with mega-artists, too, including Madonna and U2.
- Live Nation operates San Manuel Amphitheater in Devore (formerly known as Glen Helen Pavilion, Blockbuster Pavilion, Hyundai Pavilion), the nation’s largest outdoor amphitheater. Like the Fox, the venue itself is owned by the local government. In this case, San Bernardino County. This year there have been four major concerts/music events that have happened so far (Paid Dues and Beyond Wonderland moved there from the NOS Events Center, Mumford & Sons and Tim McGraw were booked as concert events). There are four other events, spanning over five days (Rockstar Mayhem Festival, Brad Paisley, Iron Maiden and Rock the Bells’ two-day fest) already booked and announced for the venue. This makes it the busiest year at the amphitheater in the six years I’ve been covering music at The Press-Enterprise.
- Live Nation books well-known music venues in the Southland, including the Hollywood Palladium, The Wiltern, the House of Blues and more. They have a variety of music going into their venues.
- On a personal note, every time I’ve emailed or called Live Nation to inquire about covering a show at San Manuel Amphitheater, the folks there have always been responsive. They are also good about letting the media know about on-sale dates and upcoming shows.
So what do you think of the city trying to work a deal with Live Nation? Do you think this means more shows and big entertainment for the Fox? Any local musicians out there have experience working with Live Nation?
Who do you want Live Nation to book at the Riverside venues?