Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Red Hot Chili Peppers free concert anything but

Clear Channel Entertainment seeks a $627,209 reimbursement from the city of Las Vegas and its centennial committee for unexpected costs incurred while staging the free Red Hot Chili Peppers concert in July.

Bruce Eskowitz, president of Texas-based Clear Channel Entertainment Properties, asked centennial committee members for financial relief during the group's regular meeting on Monday. The concert, which was one of the ongoing centennial celebration's signature events, drew more than 47,000 people with free tickets.

"The expenses exceeded expectations, in part, because of the unique nature of the July 2 concert," Eskowitz wrote in a letter to the committee.

"Additionally," Eskowitz wrote, "by request (of) County and Metro officials, the concert was moved on very short notice to a site owned by Clark County Parks Department, which was then produced in a public, non-venue location that required exceptional coordination and compliance with both City and County agencies."

The biggest expense reported by Clear Channel for the concert at soccer fields near Sam Boyd Stadium was parking. Clear Channel wants the city to pay the $119,631 cost of parking management at the event. Other cost overruns cited by Clear Channel were $68,285 for stage hands, $51,335 for insurance and $23,846 for barricades.

Those expenses came at a time when sponsorships for the concert and other centennial projects that Clear Channel contracted to produce, fell below expectations. Under its contract, Clear Channel guaranteed the centennial committee $1.9 million to fund activities throughout 2005.

Of that funding, Las Vegas Deputy City Manager Betsy Fretwell said that about $400,000 remains. However, the city still has another five months of centennial events planned and may need those resources.

"I would feel uncomfortable writing a check at this point," Fretwell said.

The committee, led by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, agreed to reconsider Clear Channel's request at the end of the year. But several representatives on the committee questioned why Clear Channel would even make the request, since no provision for it exists in contract.

Tim Cashman, who represents the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce on the centennial group, said that Clear Channel is a for-profit organization that took an entrepreneurial risk. It's not the city's responsibility that the risk didn't pay off, Cashman said.

"Had they made a whole bunch more money, had they made the $10 to $15 million that they originally thought they'd make in sponsorship, I'm not sure the city would have been there saying 'Why don't you give us back some money,' " Cashman said.

Other committee members pointed out that although Clear Channel's role in the centennial events is now over, the Texas company still has opportunities to profit. Those include merchandising efforts and also a contract provision that gives Clear Channel 20 percent of financial contributions made toward centennial activities.

Goodman praised Clear Channel for its efforts, which he said were notable for both success and quality.

In addition to the concert, Clear Channel secured five hours of programming on the Travel Channel featuring Las Vegas and its 100th anniversary. It also produced and organized a 10-city "Road to Vegas" summer music tour that featured the group Collective Soul.

"At the end of the year when they come back, at least in me, they're going to have a friend," Goodman said.