Hank Ratner, president, Madison Square Garden, New York, and Irving Azoff, Irving Azoff Music, regale the press with plans for the renovated Forum, Inglewood, Calif. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM INGLEWOOD, CALIF. — Madison Square Garden Co. heralded its new foothold on the West Coast with announcement July 30 that the Forum will reopen with three concerts by the Eagles in January 2014 and will be positioned as exclusively a music and family entertainment venue, no longer hosting sports.
At a press conference here, executives from Madison Square Garden Co., New York, along with Los Angeles music moguls and Inglewood politicians, announced that by the time the Forum reopens, they will have spent $100 million on renovations, gutting the venue and reconfiguring it for optimal concert experiences. The rigging will be able to handle up to 350,000 pounds. There is no scoreboard, no luxury suites. And there is a catwalk grid around the ceiling, which will make rigging a dream for stagehands.
Chase has signed on as presenting sponsor, with the Forum henceforth referred to as Forum presented by Chase. The grand reopening event will be three performances by the Eagles, Jan. 15, 17 and 18. Irving Azoff, who manages the Eagles, declared the revitalized Forum one-of-a-kind for the L.A. market, a music-oriented arena, “with acoustics as good or better than ever and good, cushioned seats.”
Announcing Chase as a corporate partner, Hank Ratner, president and CEO of Madison Square Garden Co., said Chase is involved in all Madison Square Garden Entertainment venues, including new Chase Bridges and Chase Square as part of the transformation of Madison Square Garden, and will be visible at the Forum “inside and outside.” There will be a Chase Lounge only accessible through select affiliations with Chase. It will have a dedicated entrance and top tier food and beverage amenities. Chase Lounge will be positioned on the opposite side of the arena from the famed Forum Club, the Forum’s historic VIP experience which is being completely redone and also boasts a dedicated entrance.
The Forum expands what Hank Ratner referred to as “MSG’s roadshow” to the West Coast, and adds a seventh venue to the company’s portfolio, which include: Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre in New York; Chicago Theatre in Chicago; The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York, and Boston’s Wang Theatre.
The Forum will book a broad scope of events with a focus on music and entertainment, including concerts, family productions, award shows, television/film productions, as well as a few select sporting events.
BBB Architects is directing the Forum revitalization, which is inspired by the venue’s original 1967 design, and includes upgrades to the entire venue site.
There will be seven dressing rooms that feature upgraded amenities. Sports locker rooms are gone, but there will be a dedicated area for production and touring crews, which will include an exclusive dining space.
Among the key features that will be resurrected in an effort to replicate the original design is the exterior color of the venue, which will be repainted to the 1960’s “California sunset red.” The revitalization of the 40,000-square-foot outdoor terrace surrounding the perimeter of the building will offer upgraded food and beverage amenities. In addition, a distinct and iconic Forum marquee that reflects the architecture of the venue will be located at Manchester and Prairie.
Melissa Ormond, president, Madison Square Garden Entertainment, will be very involved in booking of the Forum, though she told Venues Today there will be a full staff on the West Coast, including a full-time booker. Ormond told the press that she spent 10 years of her career in L.A. and is very pleased that the Forum is “now eligible for the National Register of Historic Places."
“We’ve done everything we can to maintain the best of the building — the acoustics, iconic feeling, the sightlines,” Ormond said. “But there will be no professional sports, though we might do boxing, tennis, and extreme sports. Think about it as being a more theatrical feeling, warmer. We’ve upgraded everything after years of lack of attention.”
She emphasized the modernized bowl, the flexibility of the venue with a 17,500-seat capacity scalable to an 8,000-seat half-house. “And it will have one of the largest general admission floors in the city.” The ceiling will be enhanced with an LED starry-night effect, a sight fans historically saw dominated by a scoreboard.
The Eagles reminisce about their experiences at the Forum in the 80's. (VT Photo)
Ormond did not position this arena as competition to Staples Center, Los Angles, because, “though Staples Center is a great venue, it has three professional sports teams and therefore is overtaxed. There are artists that can’t do the number of performances at Staples they can here.”
“Frankly, I think it will grow the market. Having this option and an unfettered calendar will grow the market,” Ormond added.
Community Players
But like Staples Center and its L.A. Live destination, there is hope that someone will develop a retail and restaurant destination in Inglewood. Several MSG executives pointed out the potential for revitalizing the entire neighborhood, with special emphasis on hopes of doing something to turn the adjacent Hollywood Park track into a destination. “This location is very important. They have continued to have faith as this venue has been renovated. We want it to continue to be part of the community,” Ormond said.
Nick Spampanato, GM of the Forum for MSG, has been on the premises since August 2012. It is a return trip for him also, having started his career working 14 years at what was then Universal Amphitheatre (now closed) and working as GM of the Hollywood Palladium, which was also renovated. He moved to New York to manage the Beacon Theatre in 2009, but when the opportunity came up, he couldn’t pass on the chance to return to L.A. to manage the Forum. He took up residence in Westchester, three miles away, “to make sure I was here if I got a call.”
Spampanato said they are hoping to do 65-80 shows a year. “The amenities and production values we put in here are unsurpassed, including 10,000 sq. ft. of sky deck over the top. We’re making the building production-friendly for concerts and family shows and we’ll do occasional one-offs in sports, but no residency in sports.”
In keeping with the pledge to engage the community of Inglewood, the Forum will also host a weekly Farmer’s Market in the parking lot, Ormond said. Ratner also noted that the venue will provide Inglewood with 260 full-time job openings when it reopens and over the next 30 years, it will have a $1.4 billion total economic benefit. Under MSG’s ownership, it has already hosted community events like the Shuttle Endeavor’s homecoming.
Spampanato said it would be a couple of months before they name a concessionaire for the Forum. Historically, Madison Square Garden operates food and drink in house at its venues. Contemporary Services Corp. has the security contract through May 2014.
Seats have been ordered from Irwin Seating, signage from Daktronics. “It’s only the exterior that is historical. The seating and interior are being updated. There isn’t a bad seat in the house. For music it works well,” he added.
Then and Now
The fact that the Forum will now be designated as an Historic Landmark was of particular interest to many in the industry with ties to the venue.
“I am thrilled to see the Forum will be reborn, filled with music, laughter and happy people; it should never be dark! I understand it will be named an Historical Landmark, so it will go on and on. Oh Happy Day,” said an exuberant Claire Rothman, longtime manager of the Fabulous Forum in its heyday.
Jim Granger, Contemporary Services Corp., recalled his start in the business at the Forum. He recalled a policeman who visited him on the graveyard shift when he was guarding trucks and later brought him coffee. He greeted that policeman at the press conference. It was Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr.
“The greatness of the Forum is unmatched,” Granger said. “It was the showcase of the 70s and it sounds better for concerts because there are no suites, no glass.”
He was particularly interested in the historical fact that the original architect of the Forum, built in 1967 for $16 million, was Charles Luckman of Charles Luckman Associates, who also designed Madison Square Garden. It has come full circle, he noted.
For members of the Eagles, memories are less esoteric. Glenn Fry told the press that he saw his first hockey game at the Forum and first played there as opening act in a band called Poco. Joe Walsh joked that “I spent a couple of days in the Forum Club one night…Thank you for a real place to play in L.A.”
Interviewed for this story: Melissa Ormond, Hank Ratner, (212) 465-6000; Nick Spampanato, (310) 330-7353; Jim Granger, (818) 885-5150