Maine Club Operator Evicted

Operations at the The State Theatre in Portland, Maine, are temporarily on hold following the March 2nd eviction of director Chris Morgan for allegedly not paying rent and other bills on time.

Grant Wilson of Stonecoast Properties, which owns the building, filed a complaint in Portland District Court January 10th seeking to evict Morgan, who took over running the venue last June.

Wilson’s attorney Michael Traister said Morgan allegedly failed to pay the $10,000 rent and other bills and is in the hole more than $26,000, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Morgan filed a request for an injunction February 28th, asking to delay the eviction and give him time to hire a lawyer. His request also accused Wilson of “fraud and misrepresentation” and claimed he’d be able to prove it.

The judge didn’t buy the argument and denied that request, the paper said.

Morgan took over the State Theatre, which at one point was a venue for X-rated movies, with a plan to bring it back to its former glory by refurbishing the venue, installing new light and sound equipment and attracting corporate sponsors. Both parties reportedly met in February to discuss the situation but talks apparently broke down.

Morgan, a former concert promoter, told the paper he’s not giving up his fight to stay at the concert venue but didn’t reveal any details.

Meanwhile, Wilson’s property manager, Kelly Sawyer, told the Herald that Stonecoast is already talking to several people about taking over the historic venue.

“We plan to work hard to get the theatre up and running again with a new tenant,” Sawyer told the paper. “It hopefully won’t be down for very long.”

Two concerts still on the books at press time were an April 29th show with Brian Regan and a May 4th show with Saves the Day.

Pollstar‘s attempt to reach Morgan was unsuccessful at press time.