Five entities seek to run Civic Auditorium

The Civic Auditorium may be getting a new operator in the near future.

Five entities have applied to run the Redding entertainment venue, which has been facing challenges for years. The entities hail from various locations, including Redding, Southern California, Tennessee and Iowa.

The Civic was formerly operated by Advance Redding, a nonprofit that was created by Bethel Church leaders to manage it more than 14 years ago. The organization transferred management back to the city about two months ago when it became unable to stay afloat financially after failing to retain crucial funding from the city. 

The Redding City Council decided this summer to issue a request for proposal, or RFP, to allow interested entities to apply to operate the Civic even though after Advance Redding’s issues, some people were skeptical that anyone would be interested in managing it. As part of last week’s State of the City address, Mayor Mike Littau emphasized the similar thoughts he and others on the council have had as he announced that five entities have applied.

“I think if you ask the council,” he said, “we were kind of surprised to hear that anybody applied for it, as it felt like a losing battle.” 

According to a document obtained by Shasta Scout and confirmed by the city, Redding solicited 20 firms and individuals “known to engage in this type of service,” and proposals to run the Civic were received from five entities earlier this month. 

The first entity listed is a partnership between two individuals: Jeremy Edwardson and Tim Taber. Edwardson currently owns The Soundhouse, a recording studio in Redding. He has connections to Bethel Church, and he was a producer of local conservative docuseries Red White and Blueprint. Taber is the chief strategy officer of Nashville-based entertainment company LiveCo and the founder of faith-based event promoter Transparent Productions. 

The second entity is Gate 52, LLC, which is a Beverly Hills-based live entertainment and venue management company. It was founded in 2020 under the name SaveLive, and it was created to work with independent venue owners and promoters, typically in secondary and tertiary markets, to provide a financial lifeline to music venues at risk of closing due to the COVID-19 shutdown. It operates several venues in California and other states. 

An entity called “NewCo” was also listed on the document, with a number of entities listed in parenthesis beside it, including event production and live show crew company Heavy AV, digital marketing agency Twiz.io and a company called GFP Response. Online search results did not link “NewCo” to an established company or organization. An individual listed next to the entity named Jacob Reddick also did not have an online presence. 

The fourth entity listed was North State Venue Management, LLC. The California business search lists Rick Gurrola as its owner and shows its address located in Cottonwood. 

The final entity was VenuWorks, Inc., which is a venue management company based in Ames, Iowa. It manages more than 60 venues across the country and is the nation’s only employee-owned venue management company, according to its website. 

The document listing the entities explained that Community Services Director Travis Menne’s office is slated to review the proposals and rank them. Menne did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the RFP process. 

Littau said during the State of the City address that the proposals may be presented to the council in October. He told Shasta Scout in a statement today that he was happy to see enthusiasm about the Civic Auditorium, saying he believes some entities have “good financial backing and experience.” But he explained that there may still be challenges ahead, as the auditorium needs a new $5 million HVAC system, among other repairs. 

“We have a lot of work to do even after we find a new operator,” he said. 

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