Miami Herald Article: Future of Gleason name uncertain 10/16/2006

Future of Gleason name uncertain

BY DOUGLAS HANKS

dhanks@MiamiHerald.com

Jackie Gleason's name might come off the Miami Beach theater where he filmed his variety show if AEG Live wins the lease for the venue, but the Great One would live on in the neighborhood, a top executive said today.

Randy Phillips, president of the country's second-largest concert promoter, said the company has considered renaming the Jackie Gleason Theater the Nokia Theater at the Jackie Gleason Square to generate revenue from sponsorship dollars.

AEG owns a string of Nokia theaters across the country. The comments, made to Local 10's Todd Tongen, mean AEG is the only contender for the Gleason lease to say publicly it might want to drop the late entertainer's name from the building.

Cirque du Soleil and the country's largest concert promoter, Live Nation, are fighting AEG to take over the Gleason. All three companies filed proposals that contemplate selling naming rights to the building, but they have not proposed anything that drops Gleason's name from the theater.

Live Nation proposed renaming the Gleason after its famous San Francisco venue, calling it the ''Fillmore Miami Beach at the Incredible Jackie Gleason Theater.'' Cirque has not said what it would call the building.

Phillips was quick to say the Gleason Square option is just one idea under discussion, and that he would drop it if Miami Beach wasn't happy with the change. Our ''business model is not dependant on naming rights,'' he said.

Phillips and his counterpart at Live Nation came together today to question whether Cirque du Soleil can prosper in Miami Beach.

''Trust me: It will not work,'' Phillips told Tongen inside the lobby of the Jackie Gleason Theater. ``This is the wrong market for that show.''

Tongen interviewed Phillips and top Live Nation executive Bruce Eskowitz ahead of this afternoon's hearing on the Gleason lease. The two companies are fighting each other and Cirque to take over the lease.

Cirque wants $55 million in public dollars for a $100 million redo of the Gleason, in exchange for a share of ticket sales. Eskowitz noted Live Nation has guaranteed Miami Beach $1 million in rent a year, and questioned why Cirque didn't set a minimum payment for its rent, too.

''I think if they believed it would work, they would put a guarantee up,'' he said.

The comments come after weeks of Eskowitz being careful not to criticize Cirque. Live Nation is promoting Cirque's Delirium tour, one of the top grossing live acts in the country.

Both Eskowitz and Phillips offered media interviews ahead of the hearing. Cirque did not hold a press availability Monday, but executives are expected at today's hearing at the Gleason.

City Manager Jorge Gonzalez said Cirque initially offered a minimum rent for the theater. That changes once the city requested the rent be calculated from gross ticket sales, rather than theater profits. By taking rent ''off the top,'' Gonzalez said the city is more protected from the ups and downs of the live entertainment business.

A Cirque spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

Cirque currently runs five theaters in Las Vegas and one in Orlando -- markets with double the tourists that visit the Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas.

Cirque executives say they see South Florida's growing tourism market, large local population and popularity with Latin American tourists as a perfect match for their shows.