Avoiding a Greek Tragedy

Forget for a moment that the Nederlander family, which has run the city-owned Greek Theatre for 25 years, has close personal ties to Councilman John Ferraro, so close that last year Ferraro pushed through a five-year extension of the Nederlanders’ contract without competitive bidding. Under threat of a ballot referendum and a lawsuit by the House of Blues, the Nederlanders’ major competitor for the Greek concessions contract, the council later rescinded the deal and put the contract out for bid. Forget also that Ferraro and Councilman Hal Bernson are personal friends of Neil Papiano, the Nederlanders’ lawyer/lobbyist and that in October Bernson agreed to pay a $3,000 fine to the city Ethics Commission for accepting free legal services from Papiano.

Forget all that. The important facts are these: The Department of Recreation and Parks, which manages the Greek Theatre, has compared bids and concluded that the House of Blues outscored the Nederlander proposal in four of five categories. The city will earn $5 million more in rent from the Greek Theatre over a 10-year period if the House of Blues operates the venue and almost $6 million more in improvements to the aging facility.

Those numbers should be determinative, but in the world of city politics, connections and contributors can trump the public’s interest.

The Recreation and Parks Commission is scheduled to vote on the Greek Theatre contract at its meeting today. Last year, even though the department’s staff opposed extending the Nederlanders’ contract, the commission backed the deal. The resulting hue and cry prompted the City Council to step in, putting its stamp of approval on the deal in a futile effort to calm the political waters. A second vote rescinding the contract came a month later, in January.

The venerable Griffith Park amphitheater, opened in 1929, badly needs upgrading. The city wants the concessionaire under the new contract to improve the sound system, stage technology, eating facilities and landscaping, along with making structural improvements to the theater’s roof and floor.

When it votes today on the two bids, the commission will be acting under the new city charter, which limits the City Council’s ability to revisit commission decisions. This time, the commission needs to do the right thing. City taxpayers’ interests are the only interests that should count.