LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) OVG, the facility management firm run by former AEG chief Tim Leiweke and investor Irving Azoff, is reportedly going to make a bid to run Los Angeles’ iconic Greek Theatre.
The city’s Recreation and Parks Department, which owns the outdoor venue, is currently seeking bids to run it. The city did so in 2014, with the contract going to Live Nation after decades of the Greek being associated with Nederlander. After much foot-stomping, the venue eventually came under the purview of facility manager SMG, which ran it as an open building.
Now bids for the Greek are on the table again, and are due at the end of January, according to Billboard. This time around, OVG, which owns the small facility company Pinnacle and is currently renovating Seattle’s aging KeyArena, as well as gunning to build a facility for New York’s Islanders, is reportedly throwing its hat into the ring.
“This is an opportunity that Oak View Group is pursuing aggressively,” Sims Hinds, senior VP of development at OVG, told Billboard.
The magazine noted that SMG has had a successful run since 2014, with the Greek hosting 71 events last year, selling $18.3 million in tickets and grossing $36.6 million through F&B, parking and premium offerings.
“We’re looking for a certain amount of resources from a potential operator,” Mike Shull, GM of Rec and Parks, told Billboard. “There’s many different criteria that go into the decision of who we select including a unique business plan, sponsorships and revenue.”
OVG attempted to make a bid to buy SMG last year but was reportedly rebuffed by SMG brass.
