First thing they should do is get rid of that police substation and nazi patrols in the parking lot!
Owners of 9:30 Club to Take Reins of Concert Venue, Which Has Been Struggling to Attract Big Acts
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 15, 2003; Page C04
The owners of Washington's venerable 9:30 club have been hired to operate Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, an outdoor venue that has been struggling in recent years to lure big-name performers.
The Rouse Co., which owns Merriweather, says it has decided not to renew its contract with Clear Channel Entertainment, the giant San Antonio-based radio broadcaster that owns Nissan Pavilion in Bristow and scores of other concert venues across the country.
Instead, the concert-promotion firm IMP will book and promote shows at Merriweather. IMP's owners, Seth Hurwitz and Rich Heinecke, have been promoting concerts at their own 9:30 club and other Washington area locations for more than two decades.
In recent months, some longtime fans of Merriweather have accused Clear Channel of steering acts away from it and toward the larger and more modern Nissan Pavilion.
"There was a pretty obvious conflict of interest there, and I think the Rouse Company figured that out," said Hurwitz, who next month will begin planning next year's summer-long season. "I don't have another amphitheater, so this is going to be the focus of my summer."
The Rouse Co. will continue to own Merriweather. Bob Rubenkonig, communications director for the company, said it hoped to expand the pavilion's offerings to other performing arts and theatrical productions.
Howard County Council member Ken Ulman (D) said the company's decision augurs well for Merriweather's future.
"I think there had been a lot of criticism of the previous operator, Clear Channel, that it was purposely running Merriweather into the ground," said Ulman, who helped orchestrate the deal between IMP and Rouse Co. "I think this lifts that cloud of criticism."
Brooke Kent, Clear Channel's publicity coordinator, said in a statement that her company "was very disappointed by this decision." She added that Clear Channel "felt we made a contribution to both the community and the facility during our stay."
Merriweather, which has a 15,000-person capacity, opened in 1967 as the cultural hub of the new planned town of Columbia. Since then it has hosted musical groups ranging from Janis Joplin and the Grateful Dead to Nine Inch Nails and Britney Spears.
But since the 25,000-person-capacity Nissan Pavilion opened in 1995, many prominent musicians began playing there instead. At Nissan this past summer, 28 acts played; 19 appeared at Merriweather.
Hurwitz, 45, started concert promoting in 1980, when he began running shows at the former Ontario Theatre on Columbia Road NW. In 1986 he and Heinecke bought the 9:30 club, which has become a well-known tour stop for both established and budding rock bands.
Hurwitz said he will use that experience to give Nissan Pavilion stiff competition.
"I grew up on Merriweather, and now I get to put my stamp on it," he said
