The Dolby Theatre, the Los Angeles venue that for more than 20 years has played host to the Academy Awards, has been put up for sale.
The theater, which seats 3,400 people and sits in the heart of Hollywood in a complex long known as Hollywood and Highland until recently, could go for as much as $70 million or more, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing an individual with knowledge of the owner’s sale plans.
The Oscars are contracted with the venue through 2028. The theater also holds concerts and screenings throughout the year.
The shopping and entertainment center in which the Dolby Theatre sits, which was recently renovated and changed its name to Ovation Hollywood, includes retail shops, restaurants, a movie theater complex and other businesses. It abuts the legendary TCL Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
The Dolby opened in 2001 and has been the Oscars’ home ever since, becoming the 13th location to host the show. The ceremony had previously been held in either the the Shrine Auditorium or the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion since 1969. Other venues have included the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Pantages Theater, the Chinese Theatre and the Roosevelt Hotel, which hosted the inaugural Oscars on May 16, 1929, five months before the “Black Tuesday” Wall Street crash.
The sale listing for the Dolby includes two parking lots and has been presented for potential buyers through brokerage firm Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., according to the Bloomberg report. The Dolby Theatre is majority owned by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and managed by investment firm Canyon Partners.
A Calpers spokesman declined to comment to Bloomberg. Representatives for Canyon and JLL didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from the outlet.
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