UPDATE: Adam Friedman's Entertainment Advisors Returns

Imad Bolotok – Adam Friedman
poses at Banc Of California Stadium

UPDATE: Adam Friedman has reopened his Friedman Entertainment Advisors, saying it was time to move on from his role as president of Banc of California Stadium Entertainment.

“Proud to have been a part of launching Banc of California Stadium as the ‘Outdoor Arena,’ Friedman wrote on a LinkedIn post. “The Stadium is now the only stadium with an arena grid allowing it to hang arena shows at arena level expense. It is singular.

“With that, it is now time for me to move on. Although I am stepping away as President of the entertainment company, I will remain a consultant to the Stadium. I am also pleased to announce my return to Friedman Entertainment Advisors where I will consult key players and new entries in the live entertainment segment in developing and growing their brands. Folks can find me at [email protected].”

Previously (posted on April 25):

Adam Friedman Out As President Of Banc Of California Stadium Entertainment: Breaking

Adam Friedman, who less than a year ago was appointed president of Banc Of California Stadium Entertainment, has exited the position. He will return to the role of consultant for the company.

LAFC co-owner and president Tom Penn provided Pollstar with the following statement: “Adam (Friedman) was of great assistance during the completion and opening of Banc of California Stadium, helping us establish the venue in the marketplace, as well as with our innovative staging solution. Before joining us full-time last year, Adam was a valued consultant for Banc of California Stadium Entertainment and will be returning to that role.”

Friedman was brought in to operate and manage entertainment, major sporting and special events at the $350 million, 23,000-capacity stadium erected in central Los Angeles for Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Football Club. He was also named EVP of LAFC Sports, which owns and operates the stadium as well as the Los Angeles Football Club.

Friedman has worked for more than 25 years in the live entertainment industry, helping to build three major brands over the course of his career as CEO of Nederlander Concerts, EVP/Division Head of House of Blues Concerts, and SVP of Universal Concerts.

In an interview with Pollstar last year Friedman explained his role in detail. “My role is to oversee the folks who run all three segments and build a model that’s robust and to fill the facility with events as many days as possible during the year,” he said. “They decided to create a division that focuses on the entertainment that goes into the facility other than the team’s 20 home games and playoff games. We’re building a team to augment the existing team. I’m going to flesh that out a bit and bring on marketers, buyers, bookers, finance people, etc. and expand on what’s already there.”

That mission of pulling in concerts may have been a tough one to accomplish with a robust and highly competitive Los Angeles market that includes Staples Center at 20,000-capacity and the Forum in Inglewood at 17,500-capacity, as well as Dignity Health Sports Park (formerly the StubHub Center) in Carson at 27,000-capacity.

Pollstar reached out to Friedman and did not hear back at publication time.

Friedman is an advisory board member of Ampsy, a social media aggregation firm specializing in live events, Songlily, an online music licensing marketplace, and Universal Production Music, a division of Universal Music Publishing Group.

He previously ran Friedman Entertainment Advisors from 2011-2018, advising stakeholders in the entertainment eco-system as a consultant with respect to content and distribution, talent acquisition, digital media, advertising and marketing, IP/licensing, investment capital, event production, and venue operation and development. Friedman got his start as a commercial real estate attorney, working for three years in Chicago.