“I believe it was a very professional and profitable meeting. I look forward to a new, positive chapter in the entertainment district development,” Scherer said this afternoon.

The city manager said the meeting wasn’t part of the due diligence process Tom and Evon McLean are going through before the final purchase of the theater. “It was more of them moving forward with putting together different parts of their business plan.”

Charles Upchurch, of Raleigh-based French West Vaughan, the theater’s designated public relations marketing firm, said in a statement the ownership group met with representatives of East Coast Entertainment to explore strategies for talent booking.

ECE, Upchurch said in the statement, is the largest independent full service entertainment booking agency in the country. Executives from the company came to the theater Thursday from their Richmond and Raleigh offices. “East Coast Entertainment will be making recommendations to the theater for an initial line-up of shows and an overall strategy for year-round entertainment offerings,” he said.

In addition to ECE, the group heard recommendations from a group travel marketing expert specializing in bus tour bookings.

In attendance were the ownership group including the McLeans and Beau Petty, along with Mayor Emery Doughtie, Scherer, City Attorney Gilbert Chichester, and marketing executives from French West Vaughan.