Features
LN Quiet On Olympic Shows
“It’s a quiet week for headlines. They have to report something, I suppose,” LN chief ops officer John Probyn told Pollstar, after The Guardian had said his company is talking to the London Legacy Development Corporation about using the stadium to produce the shows it had previously run in Hyde Park.
All the UK newspaper stories quote LLDC chief exec Dennis Hone describing the concerts as an “exciting possibility” to utilize the facility before 2016, when West Ham United soccer club – the preferred anchor tenant – is expected to move in.
Hone told BBC News that he hopes to name the big summer acts by the end of the month.
Even without confirmation from LN, there are reasons why the UK media has the L.A.-based firm as being the most likely promoter for the Olympic site.
During the initial bidding process, which was aborted when Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient soccer clubs claimed it was flawed, LN made a bid in cahoots with West Ham.
Having lost the contract to runs shows in London’s
Some industry insiders have said LN may also look at staging the events at Knebworth Park in Hertfordshire, which for the last two years has lost revenues with the cancellation of the UK leg of Sonisphere Festival.
London Mayor Boris Johnson may still be looking for an anchor tenant for the site if the LLDC and West Ham can’t agree on who will pick up the tab for the £160 million redevelopment cost of the stadium, which will include the installation of retractable seats and a full roof.
A further £300 million is to be spent on rebuilding almost 10 miles of roads, 30 new bridges, the surrounding parkland and a housing development for 7,000 homes.
The first families will move into the flats of what was the athletes’ village in September.