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BottleRock Faces New Deadline
GSF Entertainment, the investors group made up of Napa residents David Graham, Jason Scoggins and Joe Fischer, stepped up with an offer to assume $6.6 million in debt from creditors of BR Festivals, the holding company that organized the first BottleRock at the Napa Valley Expo in 2013.
Expo directors voted Dec. 18 to move forward with contract approval for GSF Entertainment to present a scaled-down event June 20-22, contingent on an asset purchase agreement between GSF and BR Festivals and payment of a delinquent $311,000 Expo rent, according to the Napa Valley Register.
If GSF fails to pull it off by Jan. 21, the board will consider other BottleRock proposals.
And, apparently, there is interest in the festival despite the public relations and fiscal debacle in the months after the initial May 5-9 run.
AEG Live has joined a joint venture with Jamieson Ranch Vineyards and Madison Capital Management called HorsePower Entertainment that has asked for a chance to submit its own proposal.
Live Nation was reported to have an interest, but that never materialized.
Another Planet Entertainment was also rumored to have asked that any contract undergo an open RFP, though a source told Pollstar the company’s interest was simply in a transparent process.
For now, GSF proposes to pay the Expo $800,000 for the use of the grounds for a three-day festival, scaled down from the five-day, Mother’s Day weekend event that was a hit with fans but left vendors and IATSE crews empty handed for their efforts.
GSF also proposed sound mitigation efforts to appease neighbors, including limits to helicopter and related noise.
The investors also promised efforts will be made to improve shuttle transportation, parking, trash and dust mitigation, security and relationships with nearby businesses.
But the outstanding debt is the first hurdle for GSF.
Graham told the Expo board that “senior” creditors may be able to convert debt into equity in the enterprise, according to the Register.
Other creditors could be in line for 60 percent to 100 percent of money owed.
And BR Festivals retains the option of declaring bankruptcy “in conjunction with or after” any asset purchase of assumptions of debts, according to the paper.