Future Of St Kilda's Palais Theatre To Be Decided Tomorrow

The future of St Kilda's beloved Palais Theatre will be decided tomorrow when Port Phillip Council give a 25-year lease to either US giants Live Nation or Sydney-based Playbill Venue Management, who run a number of popular venues, including Hordern Pavilion. 

As Fairfax reports, the decision will be made tomorrow behind closed doors.

Revered Australian promoter Michael Chugg of Chugg Entertainment slammed the idea of Live Nation taking over the Palais, saying the company has "a monopoly and are wiping out other operators".

"They bought over a whole chain of amphitheatres in America and they have run them into the ground," Chugg said.

"When you book a venue for a concert they want to know who the act is. So you will be in a situation where you are telling a rival who the act is before that act is booked. And that rival will be running the venue."

Port Phillip Council shockingly dumped current operator Neil Croker in January this year, following a hugely succesful nine-year stint which saw the Palais named as one of the top 25 highest-grossing venues in the world in 2013.

"It's beyond me what the council have done - why they have [got rid of] the bloke who took it on when it was a broken down shithole and built it back up into a prestigious venue," Chugg said.

Port Phillip mayor Bernadene Voss confirmed the decision will be made privately tomorrow.

"The report will be confidential as leasing is a commercial process," Voss said.

"This is accepted industry practice.

Speaking to theMusic earlier this year, Croker said he was "very proud" of the work his team had done during his run with the Palais. 

"We put a tender in that we’re really proud of with really strong support from the industry but clearly others have seen a way to spend more money than we could offer and at the end of the day, one of those parties will win and that’s out of my control now," Croker said.

"I'm bitterly disappointed to leave a venue that we've put our heart and soul in to, but that’s the reality of the world."