Venue Views

BIG IN BROOKLYN: Brooklyn Boyz Productions has secured exclusive rights to present a summer concert series at KeySpan Park in Coney Island, N.Y. The park is the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Mets Class-A baseball team. The seating capacity at each concert will range from 9,000 to more than 14,000 people, according to Brooklyn Boyz Productions managing director Josh Young. "The first season, we're looking at presenting at least 20 concerts, from mid-May until the first week in October," says Young, who adds that KeySpan will host shows only when no baseball games are scheduled, not before or after games.

According to Young, potential concerts include such music festivals as Van's Warped or Lollapalooza or headline entertainment. Young has already been in contact with the major booking agencies and says KeySpan park will be an open venue for promoters.



BUILDING: British import Coldplay has extended its North American tour through June, moving up to larger venues in the process. Included in the band's 45-city run will be a May 31 headline show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles and a June 13 show at Madison Square Garden in New York. The next leg begins Feb. 24 in Kanata, Ontario, at the Corel Centre. Coldplay is booked by Little Big Man.



MARSHALL IN MOTOR CITY: After doing well headlining the Anger Management tour last year, Eminem will keep his live performances to a minimum this year, playing only one show on U.S. soil. He will play Detroit's Ford Field July 12 with special guests Missy Elliott and 50 Cent. Clear Channel Entertainment's Rick Franks will produce the event.

PERRY FARRELL WEEKEND: After several false alarms, Lollapalooza will return for a summer run of at least 28 dates in July/August. On the bill are tour founder Perry Farrell with his former band Jane's Addition, along with Incubus, Audioslave, Queens of the Stone Age, and Jurassic 5; second-stage acts are to be finalized. Co-produced by the William Morris Agency and Farrell, the tour will cut promoter deals in each market and primarily play sheds; Peter Grosslight is the responsible agent for the tour.

Farrell launched the first version of Lollapalooza in 1991, with Jane's Addiction headlining a bill that also featured Nine Inch Nails, Ice-T/Body Count, Living Colour, Butthole Surfers, and Rollins Band. Last time out, Lollapalooza grossed $7.4 million and drew 282,786 from 24 shows on a bill that featured Snoop Dogg, Korn, Tool, Tricky, Julian and Damian Marley, and Devo, among others.



ROCKING FOR THE INTIMIDATOR: The inaugural Dale Earnhardt Tribute Concert is set for June 28 at Daytona International Speedway to honor the late NASCAR champion. The concert, sponsored by Kraft and its Nabisco Biscuit Division, will benefit the Dale Earnhardt Legacy Program. Already on a bill that will feature as many as seven headliners are Sheryl Crow, Alabama, Brooks & Dunn, and Kenny Chesney. All daleearnhardtinc.com premium content members can participate in an exclusive presale March 3 (3/3/03, in a nod to the seven-time Winston Cup champion's No. 3 car). Tickets for the general public go up March 22.



STILL ELECTRIC: Feb. 2 marked the 35th anniversary of the founding of Electric Factory Concerts in 1968 by Larry Magid and brothers Allen and Herbie Spivak. The Philadelphia-based company, now part of Clear Channel Entertainment (CCE), began with the Electric Factory club, which then grew into Electric Factory Concerts. To celebrate their 35 years, the company will donate funds to music programs at 35 area schools, and its 14th annual charity auction is set for March 30 at the revived Electric Factory. In 2000, Electric Factory was one of the last regional promoters acquired by SFX; later that year, SFX was sold to CCE.