Live Nation Inks Deal With Seneca Indians
October 01, 2007
- Touring
By Mitchell Peters, L.A.
Live Nation has inked an exclusive deal with the Seneca Indians to book the Seneca Events Center and the Bear's Den Showroom at the Seneca Niagara Casino Hotel in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Billboard.biz has learned.
As part of the deal, Live Nation will also exclusively book the Seneca Events Center at the Seneca Allegany Casino Hotel in Salamanca, N.Y., located near Erie, Pa.
For Live Nation, the casino business has become an increasing investment. The Los Angeles-based company serves as talent buyer for the 10,000-seat Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., where it books approximately 75 concerts annually. In 2006, 51 shows at Mohegan Sun Arena grossed $15 million and drew more than 387,000 fans, according to Billboard Boxscore.
"The good news is that the casinos are starting to see the value of having Live Nation book their venue rather than booking in-house," Jim Koplik, president of Live Nation's Connecticut and upstate New York regions, tells Billboard.biz.
"I think in general we can get a better price on an artist for the [casinos] because of the volume of artists we do overall throughout the country," he adds. "It broadens the scope of artists who are available to them."
In addition, earlier this summer, Live Nation became the exclusive talent buyer for the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, Calif., which houses the 2,200 capacity Spotlight Showroom theater. Along with that, the company has an existing deal with San Diego's Pala Casino, Spa and Resort. The complex consists of the 2,500-seat Palomar Starlight Theater (outdoor) and the 2,200-seat Pala Events Center (indoor).
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