Could NY Phil’s Lincoln Center Obligations Derail Carnegie Merger?

The Carnegie Hall/New York Philharmonic merger deal is encountering some expensive resistance from Lincoln Center. “The Philharmonic’s lease at Avery Fisher Hall runs through 2011 and provides Lincoln Center with $2.5 million to $3 million a year. To cover potential losses from the orchestra’s planned departure in 2006, Lincoln Center is seeking damages on several fronts. Most controversially perhaps, said the official involved in the discussions, Lincoln Center now maintains that the Philharmonic must help cover the expense of creating a new orchestra, which could cost more than $100 million. Lincoln Center executives deny this, however.”