Nederlander, House of Blues Concerts Team Up

After lawsuits and counter lawsuits, the dueling Nederlander Organization and House of Blues Concerts, both vying for the lucrative Greek Theatre contract, have now decided to team up and market events not only at the Greek, but at Universal Amphitheater as well, the latter of which HOB has exclusive promotion rights. During next year's summer concert season, the two rivals will now pool both venues' revenues and expenses.

This latest development comes on the heels of Anschutz Entertainment Group reportedly renewing its bid to buy House of Blues Concerts (CelebrityAccess, Sept. 1).

With Clear Channel's decision not to submit a bid for the Greek Theatre, Nederlander, which has had the exclusive booking rights at the Greek Theatre for 25 years, will now submit the lone bid for the Greek's 10-year contract.

"The programming opportunities for these two world-class venues is unparalleled,'' said Jay Marciano, president and CEO of House of Blues Concerts. "We believe these are two of the premier indoor and outdoor amphitheaters in the world and will result in substantial benefits for the fans and the city of Los Angeles.''

"This effort demonstrates Nederlander's and House of Blues Concerts' ongoing commitment to offering the highest-quality live entertainment opportunities to patrons and performers in Los Angeles,'' added James Nederlander Jr., vice president of Nederlander Concerts.

Nederlander's bid, filed late Tuesday, Sept. 4, still had to be reviewed by city officials. If given the green light, Nederlander will have to guarantee a yearly minimum of $15 million in revenue to the city or pay penalties and pay the city at least $1.2 million in rent a year according to the new minimum requirements drafted by the city after it threw out both Nederlander's and HOB's bids.