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Anschutz, After Dome Revamp, May Bid for a London Olympic Venue
05/06/2007 |
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Anschutz Entertainment Group, the U.S. owner of sports teams and concert halls that's revamping London's former Millennium Dome, may expand its U.K. business with a bid to develop a stadium for the 2012 Olympic Games.
The company, controlled by billionaire Philip Anschutz, will unveil the Dome as a live-music and entertainment complex after an investment of 350 million pounds ($695 million). London's Olympic Park is being built in Stratford, north of the Dome's location on the River Thames in Greenwich.
``There are a number of buildings on the Olympic Park site that would be interesting,'' said David Campbell, chief executive of AEG Europe, in an interview on June 1. Operating stadiums ``is one of the things we can do quite well.''
Some 2,000 workers are preparing for the Dome to open again June 24, three days before the departure from office of Prime Minister Tony Blair, who once branded the venue a symbol of ``Cool Britannia.'' The refurbishment represents the best chance of reviving the 28-acre (11-hectare) site, which failed to attract crowds after opening on New Year's Eve 1999. Blair took over the project from his predecessor, John Major.
The Dome, now called The O2 after a sponsorship agreement with the mobile-phone company, will have a 20,000-seat hall for concerts and sporting events, a 2,000-seat live-music club, an 11-screen cinema and 20 restaurants and bars. The company's bid for a super-casino license from the government failed.
The Dome, a white glass-fiber structure supported by yellow towers, was designed by Richard Rogers and is one of the world's largest buildings under one roof. The refurbishment was based on AEG's Staples Center in Los Angeles.
`Best There Is'
``We've built the best there is,'' Campbell said. He added that there's a dearth of purpose-built concert halls of similar size in London.
The Dome's concert hall may handle as many as 200 events a year, above an initial forecast of 120, he said. It opens with rock band Bon Jovi. AEG, the world's second-largest concert promoter, also has signed Prince, Barbra Streisand and the Rolling Stones for the Dome. There will also be sporting events, including AEG-owned teams such as the National Hockey League's Los Angeles Kings and National Basketball Association games.
Most of the concert hall's 96 executive boxes have been taken, marketing director Lesley Saville said. They are being sold for as much as 160,000 pounds a year on multiyear leases.
AEG has a 100-year lease for the Dome and will pay a percentage of earnings to the government, ``which could make its money back,'' Campbell said. He declined to say when AEG plans to break even or how much it will pay the government.
The Dome was built on disused industrial land. Attractions such as the Body Zone, an exhibit of human anatomy, failed to match attendance forecasts. The building cost the government 790 million pounds, the U.K. accounting office said in 2002.
Bullish on Olympics
Campbell said he's bullish on the Olympics in London. The Dome may host the games' basketball and handball finals.
AEG hasn't decided which Olympic venue it will bid for, though it would want to operate the building after the games end, Campbell said. AEG, a unit of Denver-based Anschutz Co., runs a U.S. Olympic team training center in California. Soccer's David Beckham, a member of Real Madrid and England's national team, signed a five-year contract in January to play for AEG's Los Angeles Galaxy club for $5.5 million a year in base salary.
The company is considering alternatives to a Dome casino after a government advisory panel unexpectedly picked Manchester on Jan. 30 to operate Britain's first Las Vegas-style large casino.
AEG's plan for a 350 million-pound casino and two hotels, backed by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, had finished on top of a shortlist that included Manchester, Blackpool and Glasgow. Parliament is reviewing the panel's decision after complaints from Campbell and lawmakers.
Cruise Ship
Development of about a quarter of the Dome's floor space is on hold as the company awaits the review. The alternatives to a casino include building a terminal for a 1,200-passenger cruise ship, which would dock at the Dome for voyages as far as the Mediterranean, Campbell said.
``That would generate enough people to justify a hotel,'' he said. ``That market is expanding significantly.''
Canary Wharf, the office development where 90,000 people work and where Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc occupy towers, is across the river and one stop away on the London Underground's Jubilee Line. AEG will run river taxis every 15 minutes from central London to the Dome.
Campbell co-founded Virgin Radio and was chief executive of Chris Evans' Ginger Media when it was sold to Scottish Media Group Plc in 2000 for 225 million pounds.
He said transportation links are one reason he isn't concerned about the Dome's reputation as a ``white elephant.'' The other reason is advanced ticket sales for concerts.
``We've sold a million tickets, and we haven't opened the doors yet,'' he said. ``Once people do come they will find it's easier to get to than they thought and it's a more pleasant environment than they thought.''
(Source: Bloomberg.com)
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