SCRANTON, PA (CelebrityAccess) — Live Nation will stay as the operator of the county-owned Pavilion at Montage Mountain for at least the next five years.
According to the Scranton Times-Tribune, the promoter on Monday notified Lackawanna County commissioners that they did not intend to use the termination clause of their current lease for the venue, which runs through 2021. Monday was the final day for Live Nation to opt out of the concession deal, the Times-Tribune said.
Live Nation began negotiations with the county over the venue in March and agreed to contribute an additional $75,000 to cover previously incurred costs to the county of deputies providing security at the venue in 2015.
Live Nation also requested some additional conditions, to which the county agreed in principle, but a spokesman for the county declined to comment to the Times-Tribune on the nature of the conditions as negotiations were still ongoing.
According to the Times-Tribune, the board of commissioners raised some concerns during the negotiations about the cost of subsidizing the amphitheater. Live Nation currently pays $550,000 in rent which is less than the $800,000 in annual debt service the county pays for the venue.
“We recognize that the concerts have a large impact on the local economy,” Andy Wallace, chief of staff to the board of commissioner said, per the Times-Tribune. “However, the county commissioners continue to be concerned about the cost of subsidizing the amphitheater, which will cost the taxpayers of Lackawanna County $450,000 per year.”
An economic impact commissioned by Live Nation in 2015 found that concerts they produce at the amphitheater generated $32.4 million in economic activity for Scranton in 2015. – Staff Writers
