House of Blues Wins Round on Greek Theatre

A review panel is recommending that Los Angeles award the city’s lucrative Greek Theatre contract to House of Blues instead of the politically connected family that has run the Greek for more than 25 years.

In a move that is expected to set off a battle at City Hall, a seven-member panel appointed by the Department of Recreation and Parks found that House of Blues outscored the Nederlander family on four out of five criteria.

House of Blues projected that it would pay the city about $23.5 million in rent during the 10-year contract, compared with $18.5 million offered by the Nederlanders, according to a report that will be reviewed by the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners next week.

House of Blues proposes about $11.1 million in improvements to the historic theater, compared with the $5.5 million offered by the Nederlanders.

About a year ago, House of Blues sued Los Angeles, alleging that the City Council acted illegally when it voted 8 to 5 to grant the Nederlander family a five-year contract extension without a competitive bid.

In January, the council voted 13-1 to rescind the agreement after learning that a House of Blues-sponsored referendum was going to be placed on the November ballot, asking voters to overturn the agreement and force the city to seek other offers.

The Nederlander deal also was clouded by the fact that council President John Ferraro was a personal friend of the family and their attorney, Neil Papiano.

According to the panel’s memo, released late Tuesday, House of Blues also outscored the Nederlanders in “experience and qualifications” and “proposed services and community outreach.” If approved by the parks commissioners, the deal would go to the council for final review.

“We think the council will do the right thing,” said Rick Taylor, a spokesman for House of Blues. “Now we can see what competitive bidding really meant. It meant that the city and the community got a better deal.”

However, Nederlander attorney Adam Burke questioned whether House of Blues could make good on its promises without drastically raising prices.

“They want to turn the venue into an elitist-only venue,” Burke said.