Bonnaroo Settles In

Bonnaroo organizers Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment have purchased a major portion of the site where the annual music festival is held.

The purchase of 530 acres in Manchester, Tenn., encompasses all of the performance areas and much of the camping and parking area used for the annual festival; the festival will continue to lease another 250 acres that currently serve as additional parking and camping.

In addition to becoming the permanent venue for Bonnaroo, the purchase will allow organizers to open the site for a variety of other select events.

"We are really excited about making this investment," Superfly’s Jonathan Mayers said in a statement.

"It’s an incredible property that can lend itself to many different kinds of events and gatherings. Our hope is that this will become one of the premier event sites in the world. We plan to work closely with all local officials as we determine what types of events will be a good match for this site. We are very open-minded about working with anyone interested in using the property."

The new owners are developing a master plan for the land that will be phased in over several years. Improvements will focus on making the event more comfortable for fans and increasing the efficiency of Bonnaroo production as well as developing the infrastructure necessary to host multiple events. Initial improvements will likely begin following this year’s event, scheduled for June 14-17.

A limited number of early-bird discounted tickets went on sale at the end of last year’s event and quickly sold out. Regular tickets will go on sale with the announcement of this year’s lineup, which is expected to begin at the end of the month.