Taxpayers on the hook for summer concert
Posted Apr 13, 2010 01:34:49 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Bringing Sir Paul McCartney to town last year cost taxpayers almost $800,000, but Nova Scotia’s premier defends the expenditure saying that number could have been millions.
Under the previous Progressive Conservative government the Department of Tourism loaned concert promoter Power Promotions $600,000 for the marketing and advertising of McCartney’s show.
Premier Darrell Dexter says the company asked for more but that was denied.
“First of all we thought the $600,000 as an investment was a lot of money for the province in any event,” says Dexter. “And the fact that the province was potentially on the hook for the $3.5 million guarantee it seemed like we had far and away done the lion’s share with respect to that particular promotion.”
McCartney’s contract guaranteed a payout of $3.5 million if ticket sales didn’t cover his fee.
Meanwhile, HRM residents are on the hook for another $200,000, which was spent on policing and extra power generation for the event.
Promoter Harold MacKay defends the price tag.
“We generated $24 million from our concerts,” says MacKay about McCartney and the KISS concert the next weekend. “We kicked in about $2.8 million in HST alone.”
MacKay says the provincial government took a sponsorship role to the tune of $300,000.
“In our view they got excellent value for their money in North America and around the world with exposure that further enhances this place as a tourism destination,” says MacKay.
He says the other $300,000 was to be paid back if the concert drew more than 45,000 ticket sales. MacKay didn’t confirm or deny if that sum was refunded to the province.
Reports shortly after the McCartney concert pegged attendance at between 50,000 and 60,000, however The Coast reports only about 26,000 tickets were actually sold.
MacKay says the contract with McCartney prohibits the release of ticket sale numbers, but adds they set up for 40,000 and they had a “full house”.
