Features
ICM Partners Close To Festival Deal
A committee in St. Louis voted 8-0 today to approve festivals organized by booking agency ICM Partners, clearing a hurdle toward the creation of events that would be held at the Soldiers Memorial area on two holiday weekends.
The committee, composed of 10 members, voted 8-0 for the event, with two in absentia.
The festival proposal now goes to the 28-member Board of Aldermen on Friday.
ICM Partners is a partner in Summer Rocks LLC, which wants to lease the downtown area for a country music festival over Memorial Day weekend and a rock festival over Labor Day weekend.
The events would begin in 2015.
The city would earn $400,000 each festival for providing municipal services as well as much as $1.5 million per festival from fees on ticket sales for the first 10 years of the proposed 20-year deal.
There are NIMBYS, as always. A local blues musician started an online petition to stop “Bill 328,” claiming the festivals would not showcase local talent.
The bill’s non-compete clause has also been a source of contention, as it would prevent similar events in the area – namely, events with an $8 million or more investment or that sell more than 25,000 tickets per day, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
If ICM’s events are approved, the major agency’s repertoire would now include formidable festival organizer.