DUBLIN, Ireland (VIP NEWS) — Irish Promoter Peter Aiken has said he stands to lose more than 1m euros as a result of the Garth Brooks concert dispute.
Addressing an Irish parliament, Mr. Aiken said Brooks would lose even more money and it was wrong to say the star was motivated by money.
Mr. Aiken said he was considering legal action over Dublin City Council`s decision not to grant a license for five concerts.
The US country singer had planned to play for 400,000 fans at the stadium on consecutive nights from 25 – 29 July.
However, Dublin City Council granted event licenses for only three of the dates.
The singer said he would play all five shows or none at all.
Meanwhile, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), which owns Croke Park, has defended its role in the controversy.
GAA director general Paraic Duffy told the Dáil committee on Wednesday that he was happy to allow Croke Park to be used, in spite of complaints from some residents, because the Garth Brooks gigs had become "an extraordinary and utterly unpredictable social phenomenon".
He said they were more than just concerts, they had become a "national event".
Mr. Duffy said "the country has been let down".
He said the fact that a number of the complaints to Dublin City Council about the planned five concerts were bogus meant the decision to refuse a license for all five concerts should have been reviewed.
Mr. Duffy also said that in a phone call to Croke Park stadium director Peter McKenna, Dublin City Council Chief Executive Owen Keegan advised him that the council would support a license application for all five concerts.
Mr. McKenna, who also appeared before the committee, said he was so certain of the telephone conversation he had with Mr. Keegan, he was prepared to swear an affidavit.
The council has denied this.
–According to BBC
