The Madison Square Garden Company (Nasdaq:MSG), City of Inglewood
and Faithful Central Bible Church announced today that The Madison
Square Garden Company has acquired the celebrated Forum in
Inglewood, Calif. for a purchase price of $23.5 million. The
acquisition will be followed by a comprehensive renovation of the
historic venue, which is scheduled to begin later this year.
"We are honored to be adding the Forum to our iconic list of
venues, and to call Inglewood our West Coast home," said James L.
Dolan, executive chairman, The Madison Square Garden Company. "We
look forward to building on the Forum's outstanding legacy in
music, and to utilizing our expertise to ensure it once again
becomes a thriving destination for both artists and music fans, as
well as an active member of the Inglewood community. We would
like to thank Mayor Butts, Bishop Ulmer and the Faithful Central
Bible Church, the Inglewood City Council and Planning Commission,
and residents from across the community for their support for this
important partnership."
"We are extremely pleased to have The Madison Square Garden
Company as a partner in the community who is committed to helping
us revitalize Inglewood," said James T. Butts, mayor, City of
Inglewood. "The renovation of the Forum will not only benefit
music fans throughout Greater Los Angeles, but is also a long-term
investment in the future of the City of Inglewood. A successful
Forum will boost community pride and drive Inglewood's economic
transformation through job creation, tax revenue and further
redevelopment of Inglewood's commercial core."
The Madison Square Garden Company has made meaningful
commitments to Inglewood as part of its agreement with the
City. These include:
- A minimum ticket sales guarantee each performance year to help
ensure the project's significant economic impacts;
- A Workforce Outreach Coordination Program to promote local
hiring opportunities and Minority Business Enterprise/Disadvantaged
Business Enterprise (MBE/DBE) participation in the project,
including job fairs to promote those opportunities;
- Rent-free uses of the Forum by the City for charitable
causes;
- The rent-free use of the Forum parking lot on an ongoing basis
for a farmers' market; and,
- Support of charitable endeavors of importance to the
community.
"We are happy to welcome The Madison Square Garden Company to
Inglewood, and are particularly pleased with their commitment to
having a positive impact on our community," said Bishop Kenneth C.
Ulmer, senior pastor-teacher, Faithful Central Bible Church.
"We look forward to ensuring that all facets of the Inglewood
community are able to benefit from the impact of a successful Forum
arena."
Hank J. Ratner, president and chief executive officer, The
Madison Square Garden Company, said: "I would like to
thank Mayor Butts and the City Council for their leadership and
commitment to make our acquisition of the Forum a reality.
Without the Mayor, this deal simply would not have
happened. We look forward to being a positive presence in
Inglewood for many years to come.
"We carefully considered our acquisition of the Forum, including
its renovation needs, before moving forward, and believe it
presents a unique opportunity for our company from both a strategic
and economic perspective. The addition of the Forum is a
perfect complement to the Madison Square Garden Arena – it now
allows us to have world-class venues in both New York and Los
Angeles, linking the top two entertainment markets in the country.
The addition of the Forum also enhances Fuse, our national
music network, by providing access to top performers from our
iconic venues on both coasts.
"We have a proven track record of successfully restoring and
renovating our historic venues, including the restoration of Radio
City Music Hall in 1999 and the Beacon Theatre in 2009, as well as
our current transformation of The Garden, which is in the process
of being turned into one of the world's most spectacular
arenas. We will bring the same attention to detail to our
renovation of the Forum, resulting in a world-class venue that will
be the place for music in Los Angeles," concluded Ratner.
Since opening in 1967, the Forum has become a celebrated arena
in the Greater Los Angeles area. The historic venue was home
to the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings until 1999, and has also played
host to several of the greatest musical performers of the 1960s,
1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including The Rolling Stones, The Jackson
5, Bob Dylan, Madonna, Van Halen, The Foo Fighters, Coldplay and
many others.
"We look forward to bringing our passion and expertise in music
and entertainment to the West Coast – and to having the privilege
to make the Forum a must-play venue once again," said Melissa
Ormond, president, MSG Entertainment. "Since taking over the Beacon
Theatre, The Chicago Theater and the Wang Theater in Boston, the
combined bookings for those venues has increased by approximately
140 percent, and we are committed to having an even more dramatic
impact on the Forum, for the benefit of music fans and the
Inglewood community."
The Madison Square Garden Company's current portfolio of venues
includes "The World's Most Famous Arena," Madison Square Garden,
which is in the second year of a three-year, state-of-the-art
transformation; the art deco masterpiece, Radio City Music Hall;
the renowned Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side of Manhattan;
the legendary Chicago Theatre; and the Theater at Madison Square
Garden. The Company's portfolio also includes an exclusive
booking arrangement with Boston's Wang Theatre. MSG has won several
top honors for the venues it owns and operates. In 2009, after
consistently being ranked #1 venue in their respective class by
leading trade publication Billboard, both Madison Square Garden and
Radio City Music Hall each earned the esteemed recognition of being
named Billboard's "Venue of the Decade" for achieving the highest
box office scores of venues worldwide in their respective venue
class. Additionally, following MSG's more recent acquisitions
of both the Beacon Theatre and The Chicago Theatre, both venues
were ranked by Billboard in the Top 10 venues of their respective
class the year following the acquisition.
Details about the Forum's extensive renovation and the company's
plans for the venue will be announced during a press conference at
the venue this fall.
On this transaction, John C. Cushman III, Chairman of the Board,
and Bruce Mosler, Chairman of Global Brokerage, of Cushman &
Wakefield, Inc. served as real estate advisor and Ruth Fisher and
Amy Forbes of Gibson Dunn provided legal counsel to MSG.
The Forum Enterprises, Inc. team, the church-owned for-profit
corporation and seller in this transaction, was led by Marc T.
Little, its chief operating officer and general counsel, with
Jonathan Curtis of Allen Matkins serving as legal advisor and Larry
Kosmont, president and chief executive officer of Kosmont Realty
Corporation, serving as real estate advisor.
About The Madison Square Garden Company
The Madison Square Garden Company is a fully-integrated sports,
media and entertainment business comprised of three business
segments: MSG Sports, MSG Media and MSG Entertainment, which are
strategically aligned to work together to drive the company's
overall business. The Company is built on a foundation of iconic
venues and compelling content that the company creates, produces,
presents and/or distributes through its programming networks and
other media assets. MSG Sports consists of owning and operating
sports franchises, including the New York Knicks (NBA), the New
York Rangers (NHL), the New York Liberty (WNBA), and the
Connecticut Whale (AHL). MSG Sports also features other sports
properties, including the presentation of a wide variety of live
sporting events including professional boxing, college basketball,
track and field and tennis. MSG Media is a leader in production and
content development for multiple distribution platforms, including
content originating from MSG's venues. MSG Media consists of
the MSG Networks (MSG, MSG Plus, MSG HD and MSG Plus HD) regional
sports networks and the Fuse Networks (Fuse and Fuse HD), a
national television network dedicated to music. MSG
Entertainment is one of the country's leaders in live
entertainment. MSG Entertainment creates, produces and/or
presents a variety of live productions, including the Radio City
Christmas Spectacular featuring the Radio City Rockettes. MSG
Entertainment also presents or hosts other live entertainment
events such as concerts, family shows and special events in MSG's
diverse collection of venues. More information is
available at www.themadisonsquaregardencompany.com.
The Madison Square Garden Company logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7079
CONTACT: Mikyl Cordova
212-631-4337
Kim Kerns
212-465-6442
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