Moncton, province agree to pay promoters for mega-concerts

Moncton and the provincial government have struck a deal on a new funding arrangement that will be used to attract concerts to the city.

In recent years, Moncton has lured big-name acts, such as U2 and Bruce Springsteen, that haveattracted tens of thousands of concertgoers to the Magnetic Hill outdoor concert site.

The last major concert was Springsteens Wrecking Ball Tour in 2012 and this new fund will be designed to entice more big name bands to the city.

Maurice Belliveau, the citys general manager of economic development and events, said other communities are paying concert promoters andMonctonhas todo the same if it wants to see futureshows at Magnetic Hill and the MonctonStadium.

The province and the city have come together on a partnership to sort of help sweeten the pot for promoters to attract concerts and acts, Belliveau said.

They're out there being very aggressive and more aggressive than we are now.- MauriceBelliveau

The city official said the new concert fund is a 50-50 partnership between the provincial government and the city.

He says he cannot say how much taxpayer cash is involved in the new concert fund because he doesn't want promoters to know how much they can ask for.

We want to be able to negotiate as aggressively as we can and get the best deal we can, Belliveau said.

But we also want to be able to help if we can in luring the businesses. It's going to be a great return on investment. We know that there is millions of dollars in economic spinoffs per show and so it more than offsets the minor money we're putting on the table.

Belliveau said council and a new advisory group made up of community leaders in business and the music industry will make the final decision on how much to give promoters for their business.

He said 99 per cent of the financial risk will still be taken by the promoter of a show.

Belliveau said the city's investment will be minimal compared to what the promoters are spending.

He said the biggest winners will be the community that will see millions in spending, as well as the provincial and the federal governments that will cash in on sales tax revenue.

Without a fund to help attract concerts, Belliveau said Monctonhas beenmissing out.

Not only hasMagnetic Hill been silent for two years, the city official said several shows that could have played at the Moncton stadium withup to 30,000 spectators have gone to other communities.

Belliveau said the city knows those communities are giving money to promoters.

They're out there being very aggressive and more aggressive than we are now, he said.

Moncton refused to disclose how much public money was spent on any of its nine outdoor megaconcerts between 2005 and 2012. CBC News requested the details under the Right to Information and Protection of Privacy Act in 2012.

While the city did hand over sections of the contracts, it blocked access to lists of funds paid by taxpayers to the bands, promoters or organizers, as well as any preor post-concert financial analyses.

The city cited provisions in the act that allow public information to be withheld if it could hurt third-party interests or the economic or financial interests of the city.

In 2011, Coun. Daniel Bourgeois said the city sees a return of $1 for every $6 it invests in the concerts. At the time, he estimated the city was "about $5 million to $5.5 million in the red."