Concert Giants Compete for Olympic Stadium

When the London Legacy Development Corp. finally gets around to choosing who’ll use the stadium the city’s building for the Olympic Games, AEG and Live Nation will once again go head-to-head for a piece of the action.

Neither firm has made any secret of its interest in the facility. In 2010 both were involved in what turned out to be a botched bidding process, but Bloomberg recently quoted top execs from AEG and LN saying it’s definitely game on.

“It’s a prestigious stadium,” Live Nation chief exec Michael Rapino told Bloomberg. “We will make a competitive offer. If we can secure it, we will.”

He said the company’s interest will depend on price.

Rod O’Connor, a vice president at AEG Facilities, was quoted as saying the company has had discussions with the committee responsible for sorting the building’s future.

Both companies are expanding throughout Europe and it’s inevitable that, at times, they’ll end up competing for the same prize.

In December, Live Nation beat AEG to run the new arena to be built in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Both firms also have close co-operations with the London authorities.

AEG turned the white elephant that was the Millennium Dome into The O2, the world’s busiest arena.
Live Nation has been entrusted with providing and organising the entertainment in London parks during the Olympic Games.

The Games begin July 27 and run through Aug. 12. The LLDC isn’t expected to decide on the future of the stadium before then.