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Madison Square Garden Company And AEG Respond After London Sphere Smear Campaign Report
MSG – MSG Sphere London Rendering
AEG voiced concerns that that the venue may cause congestion in the East London area.
After the British Times ran a piece turning AEG’s campaign against the MSG Sphere London project into a scandal, both parties have responded.
“The owners of the O2 Arena in southeast London [AEG] paid an agency run by the veteran PR man and Conservative peer Lord Bell to conduct a covert operation against a new development,” the Times report states.
The “new development” is the new live entertainment venue MSG Sphere in Newham, London, for which Madison Square Garden Company submitted the planning application earlier this year.
AEG’s statement reads, “AEG’s concerns about the location of the proposed new venue are not a secret and have been voiced publicly with a media comment, as well as privately in meetings with local stakeholders.
“To support this AEG has worked over the last year to determine the likely impacts of the MSG proposal and has engaged with many professional groups including lawyers, transport, planning and communications consultants to assist with producing formal response documents, detailed evidence-based reports on the detrimental impacts of the scheme, and a communications approach to make its concerns about the scheme known.”
According to a spokesperson for the Madison Square Garden Company, the professional groups AEG engaged with included the lobbying agency mentioned in the Times report.
“We understand the tactics used by the lobbying agency go well beyond simple posters and social media, and include aggressively spreading myths and fear amongst local figures. They also used the Newham Action Group to attack and undermine the Mayor of London, Newham Council, and the LLDC in an attempt to purposefully mislead residents,” the statement reads.
The full statements of both Madison Square Garden Company and AEG can be found below:
A spokesperson for The Madison Square Garden Company said:
“People in Newham have the right to know who is really behind the Newham Action Group, where their funding is coming from, and the motives of the shady lobbyists who are really behind them.
“We’re extremely disappointed that such underhanded methods, which include the Newham Action Group claiming to represent residents, could be tolerated in London – one of the world’s greatest cities, which has acknowledged the importance of continued investment.
“We understand the tactics used by the lobbying agency go well beyond simple posters and social media, and include aggressively spreading myths and fear amongst local figures. They also used the Newham Action Group to attack and undermine the Mayor of London, Newham Council, and the LLDC in an attempt to purposefully mislead residents.
“MSG’s plans in Newham would support thousands of jobs and create billions of pounds of economic benefit across London. Genuine concerns should always be addressed and we’re continuing to engage extensively with the community; but fake ones manufactured by shady lobbyists to subvert democracy should be unacceptable to everyone. We urge anyone who cares about the Newham community to condemn this behaviour in the strongest possible terms.”
AEG – statement on MSG London Sphere proposals:
“AEG, the owners and operators of The O2 arena in London, are proud of the role that The O2 has played as a catalyst for regeneration in Greenwich.
“AEG does not oppose competition in the music industry, and specifically does not oppose another large music venue/ arena in London. But do believe that such a venue should not be located so close to existing venues at the Olympic Park – such as the London Stadium and Copper Box – as well as The O2 arena.
“It is imperative that Madison Square Garden’s proposals do not add to congestion in the area, especially on the Jubilee Line which is critical for the movement of guests to and from The O2 arena. AEG has been clear in previous statements that the business strives to ensure that its guests have the best possible experience when they visit its venues and that it will work with local stakeholders to scrutinise the application in detail and ensure MSG’s plans do not affect this. The MSG Sphere proposal is of such a scale and potential impact that a planning decision cannot be made solely on the impacts it might have on the immediate locality.
“AEG’s concerns about the location of the proposed new venue are not a secret and have been voiced publicly with a media comment, as well as privately in meetings with local stakeholders. To support this AEG has worked over the last year to determine the likely impacts of the MSG proposal and has engaged with many professional groups including lawyers, transport, planning and communications consultants to assist with producing formal response documents, detailed evidence-based reports on the detrimental impacts of the scheme, and a communications approach to make its concerns about the scheme known.
“AEG became further concerned that during the pre-application process in the second half of last year there appeared to be little local understanding of the MSG proposals. AEG believed that it was right that residents had reliable information about the potential negative impacts of the scheme before an application was submitted, and therefore created a web page and paid for advertising hoardings, through a media buying agency, to be placed around Stratford in the name of the Newham Action Group. AEG drew from MSG’s own papers for the messaging appearing on these hoardings and they are entirely consistent with the position AEG is taking in its response to the planning consultation.
“AEG has met with a small number of decision makers and other influencers in connection with the planning decision, as would be expected as part of voicing concerns about it.”