WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess) The U.S. Department of Interior, which has received free concert tickets since the 1970s, will continue to do so, according to a new contract released yesterday.
The tickets, worth hundreds of dollars per show, has come under scrutiny twice from the department’s inspector general, who wrote last year the practice raises “ethical concerns,” according to CNN. It is estimated the value of the eight tickets per show averaged out to more than $500 per performance at the Wolf Trap’s Filene Center in Vienna, Va., last year, or $43,000 for the year.
Performers at the National Park Service site include Sting, Tony Bennett, Sheryl Crow, and The Beach Boys.
The 20-year contract allows the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts to continue operating the similarly named outdoor performance venue outside of Washington D.C. The contract specifies that the tickets must be used in accordance with certain federal ethics regulations but does not have a prohibition on senior department officials for their personal entertainment, CNN said.
