HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Concert promoter Harold MacKay is hoping Metallica will be the right ticket to sell out the 30,000-capacity Common in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The concert, promoted by MacKay's new company, Rock the Hill, is set for July 14th and will also feature Matt Mays, Coheed & Cambria, Protest The Hero and Seether. Rock The Hill, which was just registered with the province in March, is associated with MacKay Entertainment, a company registered to MacKay's wife, Michelle.
Previous concerts on the Common have been less than successful. Former Beatle Paul McCartney only managed to sell 26,500 tickets there in 2009 and a controversial Black Eyed Peas show at the Common in 2010 required a $400,000 cash advance from Halifax Regional Municipality to keep it afloat. All told, the Halifax Regional Municipality lost nearly $360,000 on two shows MacKay promoted last year, CBC News said.
As previously reported in CelebrityAccess, MacKay's former company, Power Promotional shuttered in October 2010, owing suppliers and other creditors thousands of dollars.
Despite last year's setbacks, MacKay remains upbeat about the upcoming Metallica show, one of only two Canadian dates set for the metal band this year. MacKay predicts that the 'economic spinoffs' for the show could be between $6 and $7 million.
"You never know what you’re going sell, but it’s a great site and we’ve got one of the biggest bands in the world performing so I think we’ll be fine," MacKay told local newspaper Metro Halifax. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
