(haipo) – The Kiryat Motzkin community center chain filed, through attorney Yair Zahavi, a lawsuit for approximately 1.4 million shekels against the Tel Aviv Box Offices company, which holds the exclusive franchise to operate the shows at the Municipal Park Amphitheater. The lawsuit claims that the company violated the agreement signed between the parties, unilaterally changed the revenue distribution model, shut down the Amphitheater during 2025, and did not present a show program for the summer of 2026. On the other hand, the company rejects the claims and claims that it is the municipality that refused to bear the costs required to hold the shows.
The dispute between the Kiryat Motzkin community center chain and the Tel Aviv Box Offices company reached the doorstep of the Kiryat Magistrate's Court. According to the lawsuit, in 2022, an agreement was signed between the parties that granted the company exclusive rights to market, manage, and operate shows at the municipal Amphitheatre Park, which is considered one of the main cultural centers in the area.
According to the community center chain, starting in 2023, the company ceased to operate in accordance with the revenue mechanism stipulated in the agreement, according to which the municipality was supposed to receive 20.9% of the revenue from ticket sales. Instead, it was claimed, a fixed amount of only NIS 10,000 was transferred for each performance, along with the obligation for the chain to bear half of the production losses.
It was also claimed that during 2025, not a single show took place at the amphitheater, and that no organized work plan was presented for the 2026 summer season. The community center network claims that this conduct left the amphitheater idle and harmed both the network's fund and the public. As part of the lawsuit, the community center network is asking the court to declare that the company violated the agreement in a fundamental breach, to allow it to operate the amphitheater through other entities, and to require the Tel Aviv Funds to pay financial compensation of approximately 1.4 million shekels for loss of income and payment differences.
On the other hand, in a letter attached to the lawsuit, "Tel Aviv Box Offices" rejects the claims and claims that it has worked over the years with the municipality and the community center network in an attempt to promote shows. According to it, the costs of producing shows have increased significantly, many artists are not willing to bear the financial risk involved in selling tickets, and the municipality has refused to participate in the financing required to hold the shows.
The company emphasizes that the exclusivity agreement signed between the parties is still valid and that any attempt to hold shows at the amphitheatre through another entity will constitute, it claims, a violation of the agreement.
The court is now expected to rule on the dispute, which may affect the future of cultural activity at Amphitheatre Park and the holding of performances there as early as the upcoming summer season.
Attorney Yair Zahavi told me: "The lawsuit presents an unusual picture, according to which a private entity that holds the right to operate the amphitheater in Kiryat Motzkin actually refrains from holding cultural activities there. According to the community center network, the Tel Aviv Funds violated its contractual obligations, unilaterally changed the compensation mechanism, and led to the closure of the amphitheater and harm to the public. The goal of the procedure is to restore the amphitheater to full operation, enable the upcoming performance season, and ensure that a central public asset will return to serving the residents of Kiryat Motzkin and the entire north."
The response from the Tel Aviv Funds will be published after it is received..