Kimmel Center, orchestra agree on main points of new agreement

The Philadelphia Orchestra Association and Kimmel Center are in accord on the main points of a revamped relationship, but have not yet fleshed out their agreement on paper, lawyers for both sides said Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The two groups have agreed to a "term sheet that fully resolves all the issues," but "it's not binding yet because it requires documentation," said orchestra bankruptcy lawyer Lawrence G. McMichael. The terms, he reported, have been approved by the boards of both groups.

Kimmel lawyer Neil D. Colton told Judge Eric L. Frank that while both sides have agreed on the issues that were covered, others could arise in the process of putting full language to the deal.

Disclosure of the details of the agreement would wait until it has been fully documented, a process that McMichael estimated would take about two weeks.

Renegotiating a new lease agreement with lower rent at the Kimmel was one of the reasons the Orchestra Association has cited for its April 16, 2011, Chapter 11 filing.

At the conclusion of the status hearing, which was requested by the orchestra, Frank said it "sounds like promising news for the reorganization."