Last month, Cleveland music veteran Hank Loconti donated the Agora Theatre on Euclid Avenue to MidTown Cleveland Inc. By doing so, he cleared the way for a joint redevelopment by MidTown and developer Fred Geis that will add needed improvements to this historic venue while preserving its rock-and-roll roots for the next generation of fans (some of whom may live in Japan).

MidTown and Geis plan to remake the property into office space geared towards small tech companies. They will also renovate the classic theatre for concerts and special events. One of the Agora's tenants, Lava Room Recording Studios, is pumped about the prospects of working with LoConti, who will continue to manage the concert venue. Together, they plan to stream live recordings from the Agora.

"The music business everywhere is changing, and we're trying to find new ways to generate income," says Mike Brown, owner of Lava Room, the only remaining large-format recording facility in Cleveland (its last major competitor went out of business this fall). "That's why I'm excited, because this is a new market for us. We've experimented with doing live, documentary-style recordings at the Agora before, and it's been great. Now we have the opportunity to expand even further."

With Lava Room located next door to the Agora, it isn't much of a stretch for the studio to record audio and visuals of concerts here. By streaming live concerts over the Internet, Lava Room and the Agora could generate anywhere from $5 to $15 or $20 a head. That's less expensive than going to a high-dollar show for the viewer, and a nifty source of revenue for Brown. "Someone in Japan could watch it on their smartphone," he says.

Lava Room also plans to put together an archive of recordings and sell them on an individual basis. "If you're a big 'My Chemical Romance' fan and we have a great live recording of them, then you're going to want to collect it," Brown says.

Lava Room's unique, synergistic location next to the Agora makes it stand out from other venues in the city, Brown adds. "When a band plays Cleveland, whether they're playing here or Quicken Loans Arena, they can play in front of a million people," he says. "We're hopefully going to lock in on that niche market."

Although MidTown Cleveland and Geis have not announced a specific timeline, critical renovations are expected to take place in the next two years. Improvements to the theatre, including reopening the doors on Euclid and adding air conditioning, are estimated to cost around $2 million. MidTown Cleveland also plans to move its offices to a former bank space on Euclid in June.

Source: Mike Brown
Writer: Lee Chilcote