November 27, 2007
More People Want I.M.P. Venue in Silver Spring
The plot thickens for the Montgomery County-Live Nation concert hall deal. In September the county signed a non-binding letter of intent with concert promoter Live Nation for a Fillmore concert hall in Silver Spring, which would give the company $8 million in state and county funds, rent well below the market rate, and other perks. But now, county council members, groups of residents, and even the Howard County executive are questioning the county's deal and backing the proposal by I.M.P., Seth Hurwitz's Montgomery-based company that runs the 9:30 Club and Merriweather Post Pavilion. I.M.P.'s proposal for a club would be cheaper for the county and would pay more rent.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett isn't having it, however, telling the Post that Hurwitz's proposal was "just a distraction," while the Woodside Park Civic Association's president compared the current deal to a wedding engagement that should not be broken. Leggett echoed those sentiments, saying that to look at other offers now could hurt the county's reputation in the future.
Some community members and county council members disagree. Council member George L. Leventhal told the Post that he doesn't "consider the case closed in support of any one operator." On November 20th, the Silver Spring Citizen's Advisory Board asked the county to take another look at I.M.P. and asked to be a liaison between the county and Live Nation. Evan Glass, the South Silver Spring Neighborhood Association's president, said, "If a local business owner is able to do what a national brand is able to do, and in a less expensive way, I don't know how or why we're not entertaining such offers."
Citing the fact that Live Nation would pay about $3 per square foot, when most buildings in Silver Spring go for about $35-$50, County Council member Marc Elrich asked, "Why would we sell it for less than the current value, let alone the future value?" The Post quotes Silver Spring Citizens Advisory Board member Philip Olivetti, who wondered, "When public money is involved, and at least on paper there is a potential savings for taxpayers, how you can simply dismiss it?" Hurwitz echoes many of those complaints too: "The idea that you need to subsidize anyone in this place is nuts. Why they'd feel they need to give the place away is beyond me. This is such a ridiculous deal."
Even neighboring counties are getting into the act. We were forwarded a letter from Howard County Executive Ken Ulman to Leggett and the Montgomery County Council. Ulman argues strongly in favor of I.M.P. and Seth Hurwitz, saying that I.M.P. saved Howard County's Merriweather Post Pavilion, citing successful concerts I.M.P. ran in his county:
I.M.P.’s track record, consistent professionalism and commitment to excellence proves that the company is capable of running top-notch music venues, but what makes it truly the best promoter and venue manager is its knowledge of our area and dedication to working with our communities.The 9:30 Club also just won the Billboard award for top club in the nation, again, based on ticket sales.
With all the people coming out in favor of I.M.P.'s proposal, and the apparently much lower cost and higher return for the county with the plan, we wonder why Leggett isn't paying more attention to the proposal.
Leggett's spokesman told the Post that after talks for bringing a Birchmere venue to Silver Spring brokedown, they heard from people in Silver Spring who said things like, "whatever you do, we don't want the 9:30 Club." But that doesn't seem to be the case here, as many citizens groups and legislators are arguing for Hurwitz's company. Leggett's argument that there's already a deal so the county can't talk to others seems weak, especially since there was no request for proposals for the location. Under their letter of intent, the county and Live Nation must agree on plans by December 31, 2007.
What do you think?
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Montgomery Co. deserves better - open the process up and then give it to I.M.P.!
Seth Hurwitz is a shining example of how to run a business.
I think it's insane that people would even suggest that they "don't want the 9:30 club"
In both locations, the club did nothing but become a destination.
I'm glad to see people are fighting to bring him there. I'd rather see I.M.P venues scattered about than those belonging to a booking company that strongarms bands into playing where the company wants them to play and snaking the talent from smaller clubs.
I'd say Follow the Money to see if there were any contributions from LiveNation to Ike Leggett.
So it's better that I.M.P. have a lock on the venues in and around the region? Sorry. But the 9:30 club sucks -- bad sound, unimaginative space. And pretty all around horrible line-up of acts. We need the Filmore to at least bring some competition. And if they could make it look like an old-West dance hall like the SF Filmore, even better. I.M.P. is scared sh*tless that they may actually have to perform at a level of quality that befits a large region instead of being a big fish in a crappy small pond of their own making. To hell with them. Bring in an outsider, the locals don't know what they are doing.
9:30 club sucks? I'll give you unimaginative space, but bad sound? Really? It's got the nearly the best, if not the best, sound of any venue I've been to. And I've seen a lot of different types of shows there.
Now, if you're talking about the incessant talking of people who pay to see a show and then won't shut the fuck up when the band is playing - yeah, I'll give you that.
I can see where Leggett is coming from, from a business negotiation perspective. If they allow a bidder to come in at the 11th hour and say, "Hey! I can do this for next to nothing! Pick me!" other businesses are going think twice before negotiating with the county for development rights.
On the other hand, that doesn't change the fact that Live Nation is taking Montgomery County to the cleaners, screwing the taxpayers to the floor, and will probably turn Silver Spring into even more of a generic, cookie-cutter, stripmall hellscape, packed to the gills with family-friendly dining options and slackjawed suburban hausfraus and their mewling lil booger factories.
In other words, I have no problem with this.
People who said "We don't want the 9:30 Club" were saying "We want the fogey appeal of the Birchmere" not "We hate Mr. Hurwitz."
As to the business negotiations standpoint, Silver Spring was in talks with the Birchmere for YEARS, and that deal was dropped suddenly when Silver Spring decided it wasn't getting a good enough deal. What credibility does SS have left to lose?
DC1974, do you work for LiveNation? Any comparison to the SF Fillmore is disingenuous, at best. This is not the SF Fillmore buying a venue in Silver Spring, it's a conglomerate branding Silver Spring with that name to fool people like you into thinking it's "cool."
It's kind of like they were planning to put in a Cheesecake Factory, when Clyde's showed up at the last minute and wanted to take over the space instead.
DC1974 is clearly a born and raised DC local who is jaded to the area because he doesn't know what else there is. The 9:30 club is a rare gem. In few other cities in the country will you find a medium sized venue that fits so perfectly and in fewer still will you find one that's been operating for 27 years under local management and still going strong. It's won national accolades as the best nightclub venue several times.
Since this whole project is part of local revitalization the idea of bringing in a large national company instead of local businesses is stupid. Let the people who know the area and know the local bands and music scene run the local music scene. Keep the money in the region so that it actually revitalizes it rather than funneling more out.
Screw Live Nation! 930/IMP has great sound and a great overall performance lineup. Fillmore is branding and if you've ever compared Fillmore in Philly w/its segregated drinking area and shitty sound to the 930 club, you wouldn't want to rip up that letter of intent w/Live Nation in a heartbeat.
"Since this whole project is part of local revitalization the idea of bringing in a large national company instead of local businesses is stupid.....Keep the money in the region so that it actually revitalizes it rather than funneling more out."
That ship has sailed, dawankler, downtown Silver Spring is thoroughly enchained, with a lot of especially lame chains at that: Red Lobster, Macaroni Grill. I guess there's the big Ray's there on Colesville Road but nearly everything else in the area is part of a national chain. Not even the great AFI neighborhood lynchpin is "local".
I love when people think that the one block of Ellsworth between Wayne and Georgia is all of "Downtown Silver Spring." Use your brains and walk a couple of blocks in any direction and you will find some pretty amazing shit. Actually, why don't you stick to your Starbucks, Bucca Di Beppo, Ann Taylor Loft, and whatever other crap there is in Dupont that makes it an "authentic" neighborhood.
you can search for campaign contributions here.
http://mdelections.umbc.edu/campaign_finance/contributions1.php
So, I guess Ike Leggett is more concerned about how MoCo looks to the national business community than he is with the best use of our tax dollars. Live Nation would have come in here without the subsidy, they liklely would have paid MoCo to come in here...yet for some reason our county reps negotiate like fresh college grads at their first job interview. Brilliant.
Sometimes the corporation won't come without their (socialist) tax breaks...but not always. Too bad MoCo officials don't seem to know the difference. This deal has been addled with obfuscation from it's very beginning as far as the public is concerned. They should re-open talks. To hell with how it looks to outsiders. Put the taxpayers first for a change.
Who compared it to Dupont, aids cannon? Not me.
And I've spent a fair bit of time in SS. I stick by my initial response. The notion that the SS "revitalization" has been driven by local or regional business is ridiculous.
IMP and Horowitz have a monopoloy over the DC area club/live music scene - they came in late to the game on this project and he's obviously playing Monday morning quarterback with his bid. Where was he when the Birchmeire backed out? Just like IMP, LiveNation employs a significant number of local jobs to the DC area just like IMP. I fully support the Fillmore Silver Spring project and hope that the project comes to fruition. A little competition in the DC area music scene will be good for this market, IMHO.
How is LiveNation competition? They ALREADY book shows at most venues in the area, including the Warner Theater, R'n'R Hotel, and Nissan.
Saying we need to bring in LiveNation to compete with IMP is like saying we need Comcast to come in and provide some competition for RCN.
Agreed - bringing a new LiveNation venue does not equal "competition" by any means. LiveNation has done its best to stifle competition nationwide.
As for DC1974 - bad sound? unimaginative space? Seriously? have you ever been out of DC? I've lived in LA *and* NYC and 9:30 is hands down the best venue of its size in the country. Great sound, fantastic sight lines from anywhere in the club. I am a short short girl, but I have always been able to see from any spot in the club - even way back on the floor.
Yes, Live Nation does book the Warner (not a rock club), RnR Hotel (a rock club with an awful location that thy don't own), and Nissan (an outdoor vanilla venue located in ass-ville). And DAR is used by both companies. Point here is that LN really doesen't have access to a serious 'rock club' that's of the same quality as the 9:30.
I'm not saying that LN is not a behemoth by any means - they are a big company with shareholders and a good bit of $$$ in their coffers. What does that matter? IMP as I mentioned in my previous post practically has a monopoly on the local 'rock club' scene. Why is their local monopoly justified? What would be so great about them operating a venue in Silver Spring as opposed to LN? Also as I mentioned in my previous post, LN operates in this area and just like IMP is responsible for probably hundreds of jobs in and around DC. To portray LN as the 'big outsider' as it relates to this Fillmore SS project is very disingenuous.
To summarize, Live Nation DOES lack a 'rock club' type of venue in the DC area which is comparable to the 9:30 Club. The only reason IMP wants the Silver Spring venue is to keep it away from Live Nation. That shouldn't be a primary driver for IMP and I feel strongly that it is. They are trying to stifle the local competition for the 'rock club' market. How can anyone say that having a competing 'rock club' venue within spitting distance of the 9:30 can be a bad thing in a market as large and diverse as DC? Any why would anyone want both clubs in the hands of IMP, the local 'rock club' monopoloy??
This is a great thread - I'm enjoying everyone's take on this whole issue.