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Anschutz Entertainment Group

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 194.69.203.30 (talk) at 08:35, 24 June 2009 (Anschutz own the MEN Arena, but have never operated it). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

AEG
Headquarters
Los Angeles
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Websitehttp://www.aegworldwide.com

The Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) is a sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. The company owns or operates several major entertainment/sporting venues, including Staples Center and the Home Depot Center and beginning in fall 2007, the XL Center and Rentschler Field. In England they own the Manchester Evening News Arena[1], and currently operate the The O2 which includes a 20,000 capacity arena and an Entertainment District with 25 bars and restaurants, a live music club for 2200 called IndigO2, an 11 screen cinema and an exhibition space which will house the British Music Experience opening in March 2009. Several other similar entertainment complexes are also being planned worldwide including the O2 World in Berlin and an entertainment complex around the existing Staples Center.

As part of the development of The O2, Anschutz also purchased the London river service company Thames Clipper, to provide transport links using the river service to and from Central London and the Dome.

The company also owns a number of sports teams, including Los Angeles Galaxy, Houston Dynamo (50 %), Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Riptide, Manchester Monarchs, Eisbären Berlin, Hamburg Freezers, 49 % of Hammarby IF Fotboll, as well as interests in the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Sparks. The company also purchased the Champions on Ice figure skating tour in 2006. They also own 12 % of Djurgårdens IF Hockey.

The company makes a significant amount of its money by leveraging its sports interests, already significant earners, by using the stadia in which these teams play to host various other entertainment events, most notably concerts. Indeed, Philip Anschutz created the company by buying up several small local promoters in Los Angeles in order to fill up the schedule for his new sports venue, STAPLES Center. It is now the second-largest event promoter in the United States.

AEG is the world’s largest owner of sports teams and sports events, the owner of the world’s most profitable sports and entertainment venues, and under AEG Live is the world’s second largest presenter of live music and entertainment events after Live Nation.

In August 2007, AEG announced plans with Harrah's Entertainment to build a privately-financed 20,000-seat arena in Las Vegas on the Strip [2] on Harrah's land located directly behind the Bally's Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas resorts.

In June 2009, it was revealed that AEG had agreed to purchase English Soccer Club Newcastle United and installed Alan Shearer as Team Manager[citation needed].

Controversy

In Berlin, local groups started a boycott against the projected development "Media Spree", of which O2 World is a part of, arguing that huge sections of public spaces were being lost to the public sector. Furthermore, the Anschutz company was critizised for bully-like behaviour in regards to the changing of the outer parameters of the sports arena. A section of the near-by East Side Gallery, a left-over piece of the Berlin Wall now serving as an international memorial for peace and freedom, had to be removed to enable the view of Anschutz's new arena, located on the (former) eastern side of the city Spree.[3]

See also

References

  1. ^ "New owner for MEN Arena". manchestereveningnews.co.uk.
  2. ^ AEG PRESS RELEASE - August 22, 2007
  3. ^ Mediaspree-Gegner rufen zu Protest gegen O2 World auf Die Welt vom 23. Juli 2008
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