Canceled concert costs students $17,000-plus

NewsApril 26, 2011The Stylus

Despite the event's cancellation, BSG will pay more than $17,000 for costs related to the Goo Goo Dolls concert that was scheduled for Sunday, April 17. The event was canceled due to high winds that BSG President Eric May said could have caused more than $1 million in damage to stage equipment. We the Kings was scheduled to open for the Goo Goo Dolls.

Expenditures included production, transportation and fencing costs. BSG contracted with Northeastern Production Systems to provide stage equipment for the performance. According to the contract, BSG owed Northeastern $12,650, which May said has been paid.

BSG also paid to set up a fence for the event. May said BSG has paid National Construction Rentals $1,950 for this service and has also paid $1,516 to EZ Portable Toilets for providing restrooms. He also said other costs include approximately $1,000 for the services of the LeGault Limousine service (to transport the artists) and $289 for Wegmans' catering services.

May said BSG is trying to negotiate with the performers to reschedule the performances, but these performances may not happen this semester. According to the contracts, BSG would have owed $52,500 to the Goo Goo Dolls and $15,000 to We the Kings. These numbers took into account airfare and hotel costs.

May said We the Kings has agreed to reschedule for an additional $2,000, and that he is working with the Goo Goo Dolls' management to reschedule the band's performance. The Stylus sent emails to the managers of both bands, but did not receive responses as of press time Monday, April 25.

May said BSG decided to have the concert outside to give as many students as possible the chance to attend. He said feedback from the Wiz Khalifa concert, which was held in Tuttle South, indicated that students were disappointed with the fact that only 1,200 tickets could be sold for that event. He said his staff's primary focus for this concert was serving as many students as possible.

"With the feedback from the Wiz Khalifa concert, we had people pleading with us to have the next concert in a bigger venue," May said. "No larger indoor venues exist. So we took the risk of trying to serve more students."

May said the Goo Goo Dolls' availability coupled with other factors meant that BSG had a two-week window during which the show could have been scheduled. Tuttle South was not available, but May said his staff did discuss using the Union Ballroom as an alternative if the weather was poor.

One plan would have involved selling enough tickets to fill the Ballroom prior to Friday, April 15.

May said according to this plan, his staff would have monitored the weather and sold the rest of the tickets Friday weather permitting. However, he said his staff decided the plan was not feasible.

"We simply don't have the resources to sell that many tickets in that short of a time period," May said.

In an email exchange on Friday, April 22, University Police (UP) Chief Robert Kehoe said BSG had been advised that the weather could be an obstacle for the concert. He stated that May's staff was convinced an alternative location wasn't needed.  

"Both Mrs. Kim Haines, the director of Campus Life, and Ms. Lisa Johnson, the assistant director, had conversations with BSG representatives about this issue," the email reads. "It was BSG's consistent position that a rain location was not necessary because the outdoor concert would go on, regardless of the weather conditions."

May said rain would not have been a problem, but the 60 mph winds presented significant risks to both equipment and students. He said BSG did inquire about the use of the Ballroom on the day of the concert, but that safety concerns prevented its use. Kehoe's email verified this information.

"Both Mrs. Haines and I immediately rejected that suggestion since approximately 2,000 tickets had been sold — a number far exceeding the capacity of the Ballroom," the email reads.

May said he encourages any student with concerns or complaints about the concert to contact him directly.

"There is no such thing as wind or lightning insurance," May said. "Believe me, I looked. We took the risk of serving more students. We took a chance and we got burned."

May also said BSG is still in a good financial position for Brock the Port. According to the 2010-11 BSG budget passed in the spring of 2010, BSG had $305,733.45 for programming at the start of the academic year.  This figure does not include money that may have been added to the account after this document was passed. The expenditures related to the canceled event represent 5.7 percent of this amount.

It is unclear how much money remains in the programming budget, as BSG and SUNY have both denied requests for BSG records. May said although BSG lost money in the cancellation of the concert, it is still in good standing.

"The end of the year is still very much on the horizon," May said. "We are in a very good position for Brock the Port."

According to a press release, BSG will offer refunds for student tickets throughout the remainder of the semester.

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