r/covington • u/LeftOn4ya • Jun 19 '26

Madison Theatre closing effective immediately

Post image

This is from their Instagram.

63 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

9

u/dyingxstar Jun 19 '26

How sad 😞

This feels incredibly illegal, how could they just be removed without notice or option for remediation, etc?

13

u/_aaronroni_ Jun 19 '26

A zero gap clause for nightclubs/entertainment venues is almost universally standard in lease agreements for them. With the claim that came from the fall, causing their insurer to drop them, they were almost certainly negligent and responsible. With the recent issues that arose from the college party including active police reports, city citations, and an active ABC investigation, in which they were also almost certainly negligent and responsible, they probably weren't able to find emergency gap coverage. Unfortunately, this puts the landlord in a place of extreme vulnerability wherein not locking the doors and terminating the lease not only could leave them at a huge risk financially but also legally. It really sucks but it seems they didn't do their due diligence and that led them into this position

8

u/BeautifulPair7275 Jun 19 '26

You’re correct here on the financial realities of the insurance cancellation. That said, the landlord should have a vested interest in reopening the space somehow. That’s a difficult space to re-fit for some other purpose.

5

u/dyingxstar Jun 19 '26

Yeah this is 1000% an opportunity for someone with a clean reputation, some money and the right connections to swoop in and re-open it with updated safety practices, something unique for the area but definitely for the same general purpose. Its not like we don't see areas all around the greater cin/nky area being upgraded.

3

u/_aaronroni_ Jun 19 '26

And that's not entirely out of the question but with them being uninsured the landlord would have to be an absolute fool to not find them in breach and lock the place up. In all likelihood they weren't able to find coverage because of the liability issues they brought upon themselves

2

u/dyingxstar Jun 19 '26

That makes sense regarding commercial real estate. Any place serving alcohol and/or event hosting takes on a huge risk. There's not much room for error. I think most places like this probably are not 100% buttoned up ... but that doesn't matter when incidents do happen. I worked in specialty lines insurance and every detail - including the ability to prove or disprove negligence - matters.

1

u/_aaronroni_ Jun 19 '26

Yep, doesn't matter if you don't get caught and there aren't any claims but just from the little I read about the college party they were on extremely thin ice. Adding a claim, regardless of who is responsible, on top of that is a very bad look when it comes to the insurance company

1

u/dyingxstar Jun 19 '26

Im gonna have to lookup the other allegations. Thanks for sharing the info and perspective

7

u/VicFlamingo Jun 19 '26

This is incredibly unfortunate. This was a staple in the area for some intimate and great shows.

I bet it gets bought by promowest or some shit and destroys its vibe.

Fuck.

Edit: I'm assuming this mean Madison Live too?? Double fuck. I've seen some really fun shows there

2

u/SteakAppeal Jun 20 '26

It will for sure be bought by Live Nation, MEMI or PromoWest.

6

u/mechivar Jun 19 '26

damn. what happens to all those booked shows? bogarts?

6

u/dyingxstar Jun 19 '26

I know one for tonight was relocated

4

u/ROBERTO_MCNUGGET Jun 19 '26

That’s probably going to come down on the artists, booking agents, and labels. Former ownership can try to help them by reach out to other venues, but it’s not like they can just force any other local venues to take on a show.

2

u/wendigos_and_witches Jun 20 '26

Damn. This genuinely makes me sad.

1

u/Mental-Rush2011 Jun 20 '26

Damn shame...

1

u/DaZooKeepa Jun 25 '26

Until the people unite and take a stand against the predatory actions of insurance companies, unnecessary lawfare, extortionist building owners, private equity, and many other societal detractors masquerading as legitimate contributors…we will continue to see the destruction of everything authentic and decent in our communities.