Hotel price bumps leave Magnetic Hill quiet, says promoter

The City of Moncton hasn't been able to book major acts for Magnetic Hill in the past two years because city hotels have the reputation of raising prices and demanding guests stay two nights, says a concert promoter.

David Carver, a promoter who has dealt with the city for the past year, says thepractice isn't going to encourage a promoter to take the financial risk.

"I've only heard of one city that the hotels push people to book for two nights, and that's the City of Moncton. If I was the City of Moncton hotel association I would rather have one night completely sold out versus no concerts," said Carver.

"And everybody has to come to the table. I don't think you see restaurants bumping the price of their food because it's a bumper weekend and there's going to be a lot of traffic in town."

Maritime concert hub

Coun. Charles Lger says it's in the hotels' best interest to cooperate with Magnetic Hill event planning.

"They should be at the table, moving things forward with promoters."

Lger says the upcoming year will be different for the concert site, which, since 2003, has hosted shows by the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, the Eagles, AC/DC, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, among others.

Lger expects a revised plan for Magnetic Hill, once called the concert hub of the Maritimes, will be brought before council by the the end of the year.

"The city is very serious about maximizing what we have in terms of infrastructure at Magnetic Hill."

Lger says the city has considered an annual week-long festival or a more established yearly event rather than one-off concerts.

"Over the past couple of years, there have not been at least what promoters have indicated to staff and what we've been told in council is that there haven't been many large acts. There have been, obviously, other venues that have attracted different acts for different reasons," said Lger, referring to the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in P.E.I., which announced country star Keith Urban as a headliner on Wednesday.

Outside planning group

Lger said he would prefer an accountable outside group be tasked with organizing Magnetic Hill events.

"I think sometimes, from a promoter's perspective, many of these concerts ... we don't see any of the details related to what the the terms and conditions are for such bands to appear."

However, he says, the city is obligated, through the Right to Information Act, to publicize organizational details, including how much taxpayer money is used to underwrite the concerts and to attract major acts.

"And that becomes very difficult when promoters, who are for-profit, private entities,are trying to keep some intellectual privacy within the terms and conditions of how they do business,"Lger said.

"You don't want to do anything illegal, but on the other hand, there are contractual agreements that are competitive advantages for promoters because, after all, they do compete with each other."

Meanwhile, Coun. Paulette Theriault said, "We have invested so much in this, it is a shame to not continue with the vision of Moncton on the international music stage."