Re: Nissan Pavilion Closing?
Date: September 15, 2007 08:10PM
To understand Nissan, you must look at the history of the place.
The credit for Nissan goes to a man named Dave Williams. Dave ran Cellar Door Productions and several of its later incarnations. He was a concert promoter who worked mainly in the area but promoted shows in Hampton, Baltimore, sometimes Richmond and Florida and Michigan with his cohorts.
With the community around RFK Stadium growing weary of the annual Grateful Dead shows, Dave decided he needed a venue that could hold the dead heads for two or three shows a summer, was in the middle of nowhere, and accessible to a highway.
What came next is interesting. A company started secretly buying up large parcels of land in that area. When it was revealled who the company was, Walt Disney and a project called Disney America, the people out their were enraged and vowed to stop a Disney theme park in their backyards. Plans were submitted to the POW Council and the council, overwhelmed by the Disney debate, caved in gave Dave his permits. While this is not "EXACTLY" what happened, I have given you the highlights.
So Disney lost their battle and ground was broke on Cellar Door Pavilion (Renamed Nissan before opening).
The next May, the first concert was held featuring KC and the Sunshine Band amongst others. Rave reviews for the pavillion were in the newspapers. The Dead were contracted to do several shows (three if I remember).
Jerry died. The Grateful Dead never played Nissan. A house built for them, so to speak.
Yes it is true that the last few seasons have been dismal for the shed industry. Clapton, who does a summer tour every couple of years, refuses to play in any shed. Springsteen finally played his first shed dates last year.
But look closely at the touring band industry. With computers, Itunes, boy bands, etc taking the spotlight, the industry is shifting to say the least. Promoters who complain about lousy ticket sales have to realize that number of acts who can fill these sheds or arenas is shrinking. And no new acts are being developed to take their place.
Buffett is nearing retirement and has been cutting down the shows he does every year. This may be last tour for Springsteen for some time. Clapton is very old. Tina Turner is retired, Paul McCartney is 65, Rod Stewart is 62...Do we see a pattern with the stars of the 60s, 70s, and even the 80s? Do you think American Idol can produce stars of this nature who can fill a 20,000 plus seater? Do we see many new stars coming out? Promoters should be worried about their business 5-10 years from now when it could very well be non existant.
That being said, Nissan will be around for at least a little while longer. It is important for the parent company to have a venue in the Washington, DC area. Remember, Merriweather's obituary has been on hold for 15 years now! But don't debate over Merriweather, that is a whole different story.