Freedom Hill Loses Decision

The owners of the Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights, Mich., owe the county it resides in a retroactive share of ticket sales and parking revenue, according to a federal judge.

The amount hasn’t been determined, but U.S. District Court Judge Robert Cleland ruled June 14th that owner Hillside Productions had to honor the contract’s provisions and allow for damages to be determined.

One of the provisions was that Hillside would receive 75 percent of revenues from parking and Macomb County would receive the remainder, or a minimum of $125,000, per year.

Hillside has to now furnish receipts to figure out how much it owes the county in back revenue since 2001.

The trials and tribulations between Freedom Hill and the county – and the city of Sterling Heights – go back many years and the story has many chapters. The entire 2006 season was canceled due to a dispute over parking fees.

This year’s lineup includes Sheryl Crow, O.A.R., Bob Dylan and several quality packages like Stray Cats / The Pretenders / ZZ Top.