National Amusements to launch live venue venture

By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES, April 29 (Reuters) - Movie chain operator National Amusements Inc said on Tuesday it would enter the live entertainment business this summer with a venue near Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, that could be a supper club or a small concert space.

National Amusements is teaming up with The Kraft Group, the holding company of the Kraft family's interests, including the New England Patriots football team.

"We're looking to expand our core business. We started experimenting with live entertainment at our luxury cinemas and people responded. From there, we came up with a stand-alone concept for live entertainment," said Shari Redstone, president of privately held National Amusements Inc, the theater chain founded by her grandfather.

Redstone expects to open three to five more such live entertainment sites in the next few years and to expand further after that. She declined to say how much National Amusement or Kraft was investing in the project.

National Amusements, which operates 1,500 screens worldwide, has sought to lure more viewers into its theaters by rolling out its Cinema de Lux high-end theater concept with stadium seating, extra-wide leather seats, hostess and concierge service and live piano music.

Redstone's father, Sumner Redstone holds a majority stake in National Amusements, which in turn has controlling interests in Viacom Inc (VIAb.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and CBS Corp (CBS.N: Quote, Profile, Research). Shari Redstone is vice-chairman of Viacom and CBS.

The first Showcase Live! venue will make its debut in August 2008. The 6,000-square-foot site will be located next to National Amusement's Cinema de Lux theatre at Patriot Place, a retail and entertainment center adjacent to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.

The new live entertainment venue can seat 500 for dining and a show, or can be reformatted to host a standing room concert for 1,000 fans.

For a long time, Shari Redstone was considered the heir- apparent to her father as chairman of Viacom and CBS, but a public dispute over corporate governance between the two last summer has left the issue of his succession unclear. (Editing by Andre Grenon)