R Gets Pine

Reed Glick’s R Entertainment has been awarded a five-year contract to manage the 4,000-capacity Pine Mountain Amphitheatre in Flagstaff, Ariz., despite some support for previous manager Pine Mountain Amphitheatre LLC.

Coconino County Board of Supervisors chose the Phoenix-based R Entertainment 4-1 Dec. 21. The decision was tense with several locals arguing on behalf of the Flagstaff-based PMA, according to the Arizona Daily Sun. Like PMA, R Entertainment will have a five-year contract.

Supervisors were reportedly advised by county attorneys to not consider which company was local because it would be a violation of their purchasing policy, but most supervisors apparently went with R Entertainment because of its stronger proposal.

R Entertainment did not disclose to the media how many events it planned to bring to the outdoor venue, but PMA, which booked 13 events during the 2010 season, offered 15 for 2011.

Chris Scully of PMA told the Daily Sun Dec. 16, “We are trying to be as honest as we can given the situation we are in,” noting the economy. “We don’t want to overpromise or over-commit to the county and be facing them five years from now.”

After officials chose R Entertainment, Scully told the paper, “If we knew what was coming down the pipe, we would have turned in a slightly more aggressive proposal.”

Supervisor Liz Archuleta said she preferred a local company but legally couldn’t consider it. Supervisor Carl Taylor, the one holdout, saw R Entertainment’s proposals as unrealistically optimistic and relying on sold-out events.

Kerry Dunne of R Entertainment reportedly told the board the proposal was realistic and even conservative for the company.

Archuleta asked if ticket prices would rise; Dunne responded only that it would be a range, according to the Daily Sun.

“What we told them was that ticket prices would be defined by the act,” Dunne told Pollstar. “We could have shows that are as little as $10 and as much as $70. It just depends on the act and the economics of the deal. It’s not just us arbitrarily throwing darts at a board.”

With the new contract, the amphitheatre will likely need to be renamed, the paper said.

R Entertainment’s contract begins mid-January, and Dunne said the company is already looking at naming sponsors.

The company has relationships with Wild Horse Pass Rodeo Arena, Ovations Theatre, Tucson Electric Park, Talking Stick Stadium, Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheatre, Tucson Community Center, Santa Ana Star Center, Bank of America Center and other venues.