Features
Warfield Goes After BGP
The owner of San Francisco’s
As tipped to Pollstar in May,
Developer David Addington, as part of a company called Warfield Theater LLC, purchased the Warfield in April. About a month later, BGP announced a deal with the SF Weekly newspaper to rename the venue SF Weekly Warfield.
The building owner filed suit in San Francisco federal court October 13th, claiming the promoter did not get permission for the new name, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Warfield Theatre LLC is seeking unspecified damages and cancellation of BGP’s lease.
In court papers, plaintiffs attorney Rita Hao reportedly said BGP has no control over naming rights to the theatre and accused the company of “attempting to undermine the Warfield Theatre name and the Warfield Theatre’s unique niche in the Bay Area music scene in order to cripple its competitors’ first foothold in the Bay Area entertainment market.”
According to the lawsuit, BGP and parent company
A Clear Channel spokeswoman told Pollstar the company does not comment on pending litigation. Also, CCE is in a quiet period leading up to its spinoff from Clear Channel Communications.
However, Smith told the Chronicle that he was confident his company has the right to rename the theatre.