Photo Credit: Mike Stoll
Trump is reportedly in talks with Live Nation to take over the Kennedy Center’s venue operations, early-stage scuttlebutt reveals. The possibility follows rumors of intense behind-the-scenes discussions between the concert giant and the Trump Administration to avert a lengthy DOJ trial.
Donald Trump’s determination to overhaul the venue previously known as the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is now going into overdrive According to reports, the president has been fixated on the celebrated venue since last year when he hand-selected a new board of directors who then appointed him chairman.
Now, sources tell The Wall Street Journal that Trump is considering Live Nation and Ticketmaster to handle the venue’s operations.
Since the name change, numerous artists and organizations have pulled out of scheduled performances at the venue. But perhaps the biggest shock came when Trump recently announced plans to close the center for two years for renovations.
As the WSJ points out, ticket sales at the newly-named ‘Trump Kennedy Center’ has been tanking. The center obviously won’t be making any money on tickets while it’s closed—and a two-year closure is expected to result in furloughs and layoffs of at least some of the Kennedy Center’s 2,000 staff members.
Of course, the narrative is different depending on who you ask. Richard Grenell, the Trump-appointed president of the venue, said the Kennedy Center is on better financial footing than it was a year ago. This, he said, is due to a rise in corporate sponsorships and “better fiscal stewardship.”
Officials at the center said they inherited a total operating deficit of $100 million. Grenell added that most major arts institutions are facing declining audiences and fewer corporate sponsors.
Either way, while the center is closed, a myriad of changes are under discussion. These include potentially switching the Kennedy Center’s ticketing system from Tessitura, which is used by a number of opera houses across the country, to Live Nation’s Ticketmaster.
The timing is certainly convenient, as reports have surfaced that Live Nation hopes to lobby its way out of its upcoming federal antitrust trial in March. A potential deal with the Trump-dominated Kennedy Center could spell quid pro quo for Live Nation, which hopes to curb the Justice Department’s plans to break up the Live Nation-Ticketmaster conglomerate.
