Freedom Hill Back On?

The operators of Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Mich., reportedly intend to put on a summer season after all. The announcement comes less than a month after the shed was proclaimed all but sealed shut for the rest of the year.

“We are trying very hard to put on a season,” Cindy Rhodes Victor, attorney for venue operator Hillside Productions, told The Detroit News May 5th. She did not say if any acts were booked.

Freedom Hill closed in mid-April after a dispute with Macomb County, which owns the park where the amphitheatre is located. At stake was a negotiation with Palace Sports & Entertainment, which was in the process of a 90 percent purchase of Freedom Hill.

The county voted to keep 100 percent of parking revenue, scuttling a deal it had with Hillside to share the income. The venue operators warned the sudden change would kill negotiations with PSE.

When the commission refused to change its position, Hillside filed suit in federal court March 31st. PSE dropped out of the deal two weeks later.

Hillside Productions spokesman Hank Riberas told Pollstar the shed would not be operational this summer but owners had hopes of reviving it next year. Riberas could not be reached at press time.

Victor clarified Riberas’ statements for the News, saying he meant that it would be “next to impossible” to assemble a concert season without PSE’s help.