Wilmington cuts $14,000 in concert tickets from its budget. Here's why

Emma Dill, Wilmington StarNews

May 22, 2023 at 5:00 AM·3 min read

A StarNews file photo from 2021 shows people attending a concert from Widespread Panic at Live Oak Bank Pavilion in Wilmington, N.C.

Wilmington spent more than $14,000 on concert tickets at Live Oak Bank Pavilion in each of the city’s last two budgets, but now, those ticket costs have been scratched.

Still, the city will have continued access to the tickets. Instead of paying for the tickets as part of the city's budget, they are now included as part of the city’s agreement with venue operator Live Nation. Live Nation took over management of both Live Oak Bank Pavilion and Greenfield Lake Amphitheater in 2020 for Wilmington, which owns the two venues.

More: From pay raises to the Thermo Fisher building: 7 things to know about Wilmington's budget

More: Under Live Nation, Greenfield Lake Amphitheater sees changes for better and worse

How have the city’s ticket policies changed?

When city leaders first proposed spending more than $14,000 for a season box seat and table at Live Oak Bank Pavilion in 2021, public pressure swirled around how the tickets would be used.

Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo made it clear at the time that the measure was aimed at promoting economic development. However, that first concert season, none of the tickets purchased by the city were used. Those unused tickets also weren’t re-sold for public use even though city staff had committed to redistributing them.

The city again purchased tickets last year for more than $14,000 after establishing a new procedure to resell unused tickets on Ticketmaster. City spokesperson Dylan Lee was not able to provide the number of tickets resold through Ticketmaster, noting that ticket status was not tracked.

"Ultimately, the process proved cumbersome to implement," Lee wrote in an email to the StarNews.

No ticket funding is included in a recommended budget that was presented to the Wilmington City Council earlier this month, and last week the council members approved a resolution that abolishes the ticket redistribution policy.

More: Answers to your most-asked Live Oak Bank Pavilion questions, from big screens to parking

Will the city still get tickets?

Yes, the tickets previously funded in the city’s budget are now part of its contract with Live Nation. The city council approved the renegotiated its contract with Live Nation in December.

The contract “eliminated any and all payment” for tickets associated with concerts at Live Oak Bank Pavilion and Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, according to the resolution approved last week.

A StarNews file photo shows people attending the grand opening of Live Oak Bank Pavilion in downtown Wilmington, N.C.

STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the area’s latest development news by following our Growth and Development page on Facebook.

What will the ticket money go toward?

The $14,413 allocated for the tickets last year will go toward funding a new family-friendly Fourth of July event at Riverfront Park, which will accompany the city’s fireworks display and cost the city $30,000.

Approximately $25,000 of that total will be used to contract with Live Nation to provide staffing, cover production costs and concession sales and pay for traffic control and cleaning. The remaining $5,000 will be used to hire local bands for the event, according to the city's recommended budget.

In addition to the ticket money, the city plans to tap $8,399 in revenue from concert ticket sales and $7,188 from the city’s general fund to pay for the event.

Reporter Emma Dill can be reached at edill@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington's Live Nation contract covers tickets at Live Oak Bank Pavilion

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How have the city’s ticket policies changed?

Will the city still get tickets?

What will the ticket money go toward?

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