Journey’s Neal Schon Suing SF Over $240K Price Tag On Palace

[tater1977]

Journey’s Neal Schon Suing SF Over $240K Price Tag On Palace Of Fine Arts Wedding Venue

February 6, 2015

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/0 ... ing-venue/

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS/AP) — The lead guitarist and founder of the iconic San Francisco rock band Journey is suing the city over a $240,000 fee to use a city landmark for his lavish wedding to a former reality star.

Neal Schon married “Real Housewives of D.C.” star Michaele Salahi in December 2013 at the Palace of Fine Arts.

On Friday, Schon filed a federal lawsuit claiming San Francisco officials overcharged him for use of the venue and an adjacent building after learning the wedding would be broadcast as a pay-per-view television show. Schon is seeking unspecified damages.

Schon says he initially agreed to pay $58,000 to use the facilities and city officials unfairly hiked the cost of the permit less than a week before the wedding.

City officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

[SF-Dano]

The comments section reminds me of this place.

https://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-jour ... 33200.html

[tater1977]

APNewsBreak: Journey guitarist suing over wedding charges

By PAUL ELIAS
Associated Press

http://www.whdh.com/story/28046809/apne ... ng-charges

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The lead guitarist and founder of the iconic San Francisco rock band Journey sued the city Friday over a $240,000 fee to use a city landmark for his lavish wedding to a former reality television star.

Neal Schon married "Real Housewives of D.C." star Michaele Salahi in December 2013 at the Palace of Fine Arts. For the reception, the couple rented an adjacent building that once housed the Exploratorium science museum.

Schon and his wife complain in their federal lawsuit that San Francisco officials unfairly jacked up the fee for the city's permit six days before the wedding after learning the couple planned to broadcast the event as a pay-per-view television show. Schon called the last-minute fee hike "extortion" and unhappily paid for the permit so the wedding could proceed, according to the lawsuit.

Schon said he had initially agreed to pay the city $58,000. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office said the fee charged was appropriate. He acknowledged that the fee increased when officials learned of the pay-per-view plan.

"The only thing unusual about the Schons' wedding was that it evolved from small and secret to a live commercial broadcast, and the city's fees evolved accordingly," Matt Dorsey said. "There are no hard feelings on our part, and nothing about their lawsuit will diminish San Francisco's affection for Journey."

Journey is a popular band in the city, and its song "Don't Stop Believing" became the unofficial theme song of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants.

Before starring in the 2010 season of "Housewives," Salahi made headlines when she and her then-husband managed to crash a state dinner for India at the White House in 2009.

The Schons' lawyers said they filed the lawsuit so others won't go through the same experience with the city.

"City administrators are not supposed to make up what fees to charge people based on who they are, or because they agree to share their wedding - or anything else - on television," said Rebecca Coll, one of Schon's lawyers. "The Schons had a right to share their celebration with the world in real time without being penalized."

Beyond the fee, the Schons complain that the city placed unfair restrictions on the festivities. The lawsuit alleges city officials banned the couple's photographers from taking photos of the picturesque Palace rotunda on their wedding day.

The city also prohibited the couple from using one of the rooms in the adjacent building as they had planned. The city leases the building to a private school, which Schon had to pay $54,000 for a sublease. The theme of the reception was "royal, sexy, magic" and the couple had hoped to decorate three rooms using those themes.

The lawsuit alleges that city officials prohibited the couple from using the "sexy" theme after viewing its decor. Schon said city officials feared the room suggested "profane or pornographic thematic elements," a charge Schon denies.

"The room was tastefully decorated," the lawsuit says.

[Majestic]

Sounds like someone might be upset about the extra fees the city charged for commercial use of the site after finding out nobody wanted to pay to see the wedding. It was a bad idea anyway, Neal. You will probably not win this one.

[tater1977]

I thought that a portion of the PPV was being donated to charity and if that ever happened...
Haven't heard a word mentioned about it yet ..

[Majestic]

I forgot about the for charity part. But a portion of zero is zero, so that probably settles that.

[tater1977]

Snapshot.jpg (66.6 KiB) Viewed 2503 times

https://www.facebook.com/journey/posts/ ... 37378576:0

Journey... I guess having the 49ers and Giants use our songs for Free doesn't mean anything to the city. I mean SP and myself wrote lights and became a San Francisco Anthem along with DONT Stop Believin and others going all the way back to 1973... Respect - not
We've done actual Benifit for the Palace of fine Arts to rebuild the children's playground. And many Bammie performances that the city benefited by.
Peace out

[Gina3008]

Quote taken directly from Journey's facebook page, posted names not included:
https://www.facebook.com/journey/posts/ ... 37378576:0

"Sadly the city saw a revenue opportunity and took advantage of that situation, disgusting."

There were many others written in this vain, also.

In another post, same address as above:
“So wait, are they saying that they originally quoted a non-profit fee, and then when they found out it was for profit, they changed it to a previously stated for-profit fee? Or did the new fee get decided simply because they are Journey?”

I would think the city had a “non-profit” vs a “for profit fee” and that it was not changed just because it was Neal Schon. Wasn’t Neal using the SF site for his own revenue “for profit” from HBO? As stated in previous posts, there has been no mention of ANY of the proceeds really being given to a charity. I would have to agree with SF if this were true.

[SF-Dano]

From the PPV (I assume) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yBqG8H ... e=youtu.be

[Majestic]

From the PPV (I assume) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yBqG8H ... e=youtu.be

That's a really nice song. It seems like Neal uploaded it himself "Neal Schon Productions." I wish he would sell the single and I'd like to see and hear more from Neal like this and playing with a small orchestra.

[RSParker]

That would explain why he is selling some $100,000 guitars.