Police Pledge For Final Concert

The Police, with special guests The B-52’s, will play its final concert at New York City’s Madison Square Garden August 7th as a fund-raising event billed as the biggest in the history of public television.

Tickets for the concert will be available in pairs as pledges to New York public TV stations WNET-13 or WLIW-21 starting June 14th. The pledge levels begin at $150 and top out at $750. The tickets are considered "thank you" gifts for pledges to the stations, which will also broadcast a special Police retrospective the evening of the concert.

For a $5,000 pledge, supporters will receive VIP access to the band’s sound check, dinner for two and a special souvenir gift. There are also a limited number of VIP tickets at the $2,000 contribution level that include prime seats and a private pre-show reception.

Ticketmaster will oversee ticket fulfillments, whether viewers pledge online or by phone, and is donating its service charge to the stations. Madison Square Garden is also donating a portion of its fees to benefit public television.

"We are honored to partner with public television and have a deep respect for their commitment to arts and culture," The Police said at a May 6th press conference with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The band’s partnership with public television kicks off "Public Television Rocks," an initiative that will combine events and programming aimed at younger audiences for PBS and other educational outlets.

A Web site for the initiative will launch June 8th and include information about the August 7th concert, plus interview footage and other Police extras. The direct site is publictelevisionrocks.org and will also be accessible through the television stations’ Web sites.