AEG Takes Over Agora

AEG Presents announced July 14 it has struck a deal to get the operating rights to the Agora Theatre And Ballroom in Cleveland.

– Agora Theatre & Ballroom

The deal with Chris Zitterbart, who operated the venue for the last four years, means that ownership is split 50/50 between the two parties according to Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Zitterbart will continue to work with the facility, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

AEG Presents will oversee upgrades to Agora’s dressing rooms, acoustics, guest amenities, hospitality spaces, and lighting and sound systems.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and no timetable for the renovations has been provided.

“Given its history and the litany of legendary acts that have played the room, the Agora has been the heart and soul of Cleveland’s live music scene for the past 50 year,” AEG Presents Chief Operating Officer Shawn Trell said. “It’s a truly unique concert venue and we look forward to bringing a wide array of artists to the live music loving city of Cleveland.”

This deal signals AEG’s entrance into the Cleveland market and may amp up the competition between the Agora and the Live Nation owned House of Blues in Cleveland.

“The opportunity to work with AEG Presents and to have them enter the Cleveland music scene is significant,” Zitterbart said. “They represent the best of having not only the resources necessary to grow the business, but because they also remain independently and privately owned they can afford to be patient and do things the right way. That combination bodes well for the future of the Agora Theatre and the types of shows they will bring to this market.”

The venue has a 2,000-capacity theatre and a 600-capacity ballroom and first opened in 1966. Upcoming shows at the venue include The Shins, Queens Of The Stone Age, and House of Blues.