Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Alpharetta, Ga.
A years-long conversation has ended in a two-decade partnership at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Atlanta. The ink is still fresh on a long-term agreement reached on Monday between the Woodruff Arts Center and Live Nation that will have the promotions giant operating VWA for an initial 20-year term with options for two additional five-year terms.
“The greatest benefit to the Woodruff Arts Center is that the partnership means a guaranteed and predictable revenue stream for the next 20 years,” said Center spokesperson Randy Donaldson.
Over the initial term, the Arts Center – which will continue to own the Verizon Amphitheatre and the surrounding 45-acre grounds - will receive fixed payments to support the core mission of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. The deal also covers Chastain Park Amphitheater, which is jointly managed by the Woodruff Arts Center and Live Nation through an agreement with the city of Atlanta; LN will continue to book and market events at Chastain as well.
“We’ve been talking for years, originally about Chastain, which we’ve been partners in for 30-35 years now and then we saw an opportunity to book and market at Verizon and it made sense for both parties,” said Peter Conlon, President of Live Nation Atlanta.
Woodruff Arts Center owns and operates the 12,000-seat Verizon Wireless Amphihteatre in Alpharetta through ASO Presents, which built the venue in 2008 to help bring symphony concerts to the northern suburbs of the city.
“ASO Presents has generated revenue at Verizon since 2008, but it’s difficult to have a predictable revenue stream in the concert promotion business, especially outdoor concert promotions,” said Donaldson. “If you have a rainy summer it can mess up your budget.”
There are an average of 25 shows, private events and rentals at VWA every year and Conlon said it was too early to say how exactly the mix will shake out, though he expected the type of musical acts coming through to change and include some bigger and more diverse tours than in the past.
“Through this new arrangement, we have an incredible opportunity to support the core mission of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and to continue the artistic and educational excellence that has marked the ASO’s 71-year history,” said Virginia Hepner, president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center in a statement announcing the deal.
Live Nation will operate, book, schedule and market events, as well as invest in maintenance of the VWA facility under the deal, while the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra will continue to perform at both VWA and the 6,900-capacity Chastain Amphitheater each season in addition to scheduling and promoting touring events and concerts in the 1,700-capacity Symphony Hall separately.
“Live Nation has been in Atlanta long before this agreement and all it means is they’ve got another venue and in the summer they will have lots of real estate,” said Michael S. Taormina, managing director of the 2,750-capacity Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center.
In a city where LN already owns and runs the 2,600-capacity Tabernacle, the 19,000-capacity Aaron’s Amphitheatre and the soon-to-open 4,000-capacity Roxy Theatre in the new Atlanta Braves complex – just a mile from his front door — Taormina said he thinks the deal will only strengthen the Woodruff and give them more booking options.
“We work with Live Nation all the time and it will move things around a bit and maybe lead to some experimenting, but that’s all good I think,” he said.
While Conlon declined to talk financials on the deal, he said LN’s vast experience with running amphitheaters across the country will result in a number of initiatives and programs that will benefit the venue in terms of efficiencies and streamlining. “The city originally offered us this project [VWA] 20 years ago and at that point we didn’t want to do an amphitheater, so the symphony took it,” he said. “Now it rounds out [our portfolio] from the Chastain to Aaron’s, with different sizes and parts of the market.”
The result is Conlon can give a recommendation, but ultimately leave it up to the acts and their managers to make the final decision on where to play because of the different vibes between the buildings. “Downtown Atlanta is different from Alpharetta and we can grow acts this way… take them from Chastain to Alpharetta and then Aaron’s.”
Donaldson said there were other bidders for the contract but that the ASO board of directors thought Live Nation was the one that made the most sense. “I can say that over the average of the past five years the revenues from ASO Presents are slightly smaller than what they will be getting from Live Nation on an annual basis,” he said.
Contacted for this story: Randy Donaldson, (404) 733-4200; Michael S. Taormina, (770) 916-2800; Peter Conlon, (424) 303-6031