Officials recently voted to extend a previous 10-year lease through December 2021 at about $640,000 per year – or $140,000 less than the county’s annual debt service of $780,000 on the venue, according to the local Times Leader.

So what gives?

Commissioners told the paper Live Nation has been a good partner for many years, but the company asserted during negotiations that it wasn’t “financially prudent for them” to ink a deal at its previous rate, citing declining ticket sales and tough economic times.

“The situation was one of two – either don’t have concerts and we’re paying $780,000 on debt service with no revenue coming in, or we continue to have concerts and we’re short,” Commissioner Corey O’Brien said.

LN previously paid more than $800,000 per year for the lease, the paper reported.

The debt shortfall is apparently expected to come from the county’s general fund.