McManus Sues Venue
Over Cancellation Fee

Australian promoter McManus Entertainment has taken legal action against the operators of Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Andrew McManus says the complaint involves a NZ$50,000 ($40,510) cancellation fee for a Fleetwood Mac show.

McManus told the Otago Daily Times that in January he signed a contract with Dunedin Venues Management Ltd. to stage shows by Aerosmith on April 24 and Fleetwood Mac Dec. 17.

“We agreed to a contract for ($162,067) for Aerosmith and ($162,067) for a Fleetwood Mac concert later this year,” he said.” When I did the initial deal, I honestly believed I had both tours.”

Aerosmith played the stadium as scheduled. But Fleetwood Mac opted to run its Australian and New Zealand dates through Live Nation. They play only one New Zealand show, in Auckland, Dec. 6.

Dunedin Venues Management Ltd activated a NZ$50,000 cancellation fee. McManus called this “morally and professionally wrong” and vowed never to deal with DVM again. 

Forsyth Barr Stadium chief executive Darren Burden told the newspaper that the terms of the contract were “explicit.”

He added, “We have a contract with McManus for Aerosmith and Fleetwood Mac. It was a two-show deal. We were formally informed … that the Fleetwood Mac concert would not be proceeding, so we therefore began working through the provisions of the contract in respect of cancellation.”