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Dome gets green light for in-house promoting

By John Larson

Tacoma Dome staff are now in the event promotion business. Tacoma City Council passed an ordinance May 20 that issues a bond for $250,000 to the Dome as working capital to promote concerts and other events in-house. The agreement covers a period through May 20, 2011.

Dome Director Mike Combs and Deputy Director Rob Henson recently discussed their proposal with council members.

“We are seeing a lot of market changes in the entertainment business,” said Henson. “A few things are driving us to stay ahead of the curve.”

Chief among them is the possibility the Seattle SuperSonics will be moving to Oklahoma City this year. The National Basketball Association (NBA) team plays its home games in KeyArena in Seattle, a major competitor of Tacoma Dome for concerts.

The NBA recently approved the move of the team. The city of Seattle has taken legal action against the team’s owners to force them to honor the last two years of the lease. A decision is expected in the case this summer. If the city loses, the Sonics, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be Oklahoma bound.

“The Sonics in KeyArena has been one of our big assets,” Henson said. This is because the NBA releases arena dates in the fall, which means concert promoters booking tours far in advance were more inclined to book shows in the Dome rather than deal with the uncertainty of when the Seattle venue would be available.

Henson is now planning on those basketball dates being wiped off KeyArena’s schedule.

He recently met with representatives of Live Nation, one of the major concert promoters in the United States. He said they will no longer produce shows that sell less than 7,500 tickets per venue. Henson noted that 80 to 85 percent of all touring acts sell under this amount, meaning Live Nation is only going after the big-time bands with the big draws.

Councilmember Mike Lonergan found it surprising that Live Nation is walking away from such a large segment of the concert market. “I can’t believe they are just letting that go,” he said.

Henson said Tacoma Dome will still be attractive to major acts like AC/DC and Celine Dion, who is booked for later this year.

He and Combs have taken steps to accommodate smaller acts. This includes a new curtaining system, which will scale down the cavernous arena to create a more intimate atmosphere for acts that draw in the 5,000-range. The city has loaned money to the Dome, which is generally expected to be self-sufficient, to pay for the curtains and new grid system for lighting and sound systems that was installed from the ceiling.

“We still have a lot of dates on our books and a $4.1 million loan to repay,” Henson said.

He gave an example of how things would work. Henson books a singer who expects to draw 5,000 fans per show on tour. Henson guarantees her $100,000, which she receives regardless of how many tickets are sold. Another $100,000 is spent on expenses, including security guards, stagehands, catering, lights and marketing.

Say his market research indicates fans will pay $50 per ticket to see the artist. If he sells 5,000 tickets, after taxes he has $233,000. After show expenses and the artist’s fee, he has $33,000. For a show this size, he would expect another $2,500 profit from parking and concessions. That money goes back into the Dome’s promotion fund.

The first event Henson plans to pursue under this system is a tour of Olympic gymnasts that will get underway after the Summer Olympics in China are finished this summer.

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