Historic Shrine Auditorium to Sell Naming Rights

  

LOS ANGELES, September 17, 2006 -- The Shrine Auditorium, whose Moroccan-style facade has been seen by millions as the host of the Emmy Awards and other glittering Hollywood events, could soon sport the name of a corporate sponsor.

The organization that runs the venue is hoping a single sponsor would be willing to spend anywhere from $2.5 million to $4 million per year to place its name on the enormous facility.

The goal is to raise the Shrine's profile, pay for upkeep and needed improvements and, the owners hope, even lure the Academy Awards back to its stage.

"The real goal here is to make this building the cultural center of Los Angeles that it used to be," said Duke Collister, the general manage of the facility.

The Shrine has hosted several Oscar ceremonies, as well as the Emmys, People's Choice awards and the Miss Universe pageant. It has the largest stage in North America and seats 6,300. The building is part of a larger campus that also includes an adjacent 54,000 square-foot expo hall that hosts the annual Emmy Governor's Ball.

The building is owned by the Al Malaikah Auditorium Co., a for-profit arm of the Shriners, a national fraternal organization. The company leases the Shrine for local as well as national events and is profitable.

But the 80-year-old building needs constant maintenance and technical upgrades to meet the increasing demands of Broadway musicals and live television events.

Collister said he has been in touch with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which holds the annual Academy Awards show, about possibly luring the event back to the Shrine.

The Oscars were last held at the Shrine in 2001 and moved the following year to the newly built Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

Collister is optimistic in part because of the Shrine's seating capacity. The Kodak Theater holds far fewer than the Shrine, a fact that caused a crush for tickets when the show first moved.

The Shrine is one of the last major venues in the Los Angeles area to sell naming rights.

In 2005, Universal Studios sold naming rights to its Universal Amphitheatre concert venue to Gibson Guitar Corp. in a 10-year deal valued at more than $14 million.

Office supply chain Staples Inc. paid $100 million for naming rights for 20 years to the downtown L.A. arena that hosts basketball teams and the annual Grammy Awards, which were once held at the Shrine.

As with other arenas, the Shrine is also selling other sponsorships, including its midway area where the red carpet is laid down and the backstage green room.

"With hundreds of thousands of visitors annually and more nationally televised awards shows than any other facility, the Shrine provides unrivaled visibility for corporations," said Scott Cooper, executive vice president of MJA Advertising, which is handling the Shrine's account.

Cooper said he hopes to have deals in place within the next 12 months.

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