Live Nation is close to a deal to sell Foxwoods Theatre, one of Broadway’s biggest houses, The Post has learned.
Two prospective owners have submitted bids for the 1,932-seat West 42nd Street theater — now home to “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” — although the price is expected to dip well below its $60 million valuation because of a recently discovered $15 million pension liability issue, sources said.
The bids were submitted by Broadway producer Jon B. Platt, whose credits include “Wicked” and “The Book of Mormon,” and Jordan Roth, president of Jujamycn Theaters, the No. 3 owner of Broadway houses.
The due diligence period is nearing an end and talks between Live Nation and the two bidders are currently at about $45 million, sources said.
Neither Roth nor Platt could be reached at press time, and a rep for Live Nation declined to comment.
Foxwoods was put on the block in December 2012.
“Because of the last-minute financial issues, it is not as certain to go to any particular lead person,” said one person close to the situation.
Big-name theaters like Foxwoods rarely come on the market, so it attracted the attention of the Nederlander Organization, the No. 2 owner of Broadway theaters, and Broadway Across America, both of which kicked the tires. Neither made a bid, according to one source.
Michael Riedel, The Post’s theater columnist, in December called it a “white elephant” whose immense size and technical complexities, including the sound system, handicapped a smooth sale of the property.
The cavernous 83,706 square-foot facility, with its larger than usual staff, is also expensive to operate and depends, more than smaller houses, on finding a huge hit to make the business profitable.
The question for any buyer is how long “Spider-Man” will continue its run, and then — once it’s finished — how long and how costly will be the refurbishment, and the search for a suitable hot-ticket successor.
“Spider-Man” is expected to run for at least another year. The Foxwoods naming rights deal is said to expire on May 31.
AEG Worldwide, under the fresh management of Phil Anschutz, has been looking to acquire theater and event spaces. The Los Angeles-based company may have also cast an eye on Foxwoods.