Moncton Questioned Over AC/DC Fees

AC/DC is coming to Moncton, New Brunswick, leaving some in the region questioning just how much taxpayers will pony up to host the band Sept. 5.

Photo: Chris McKay / WireImage.com
Philips Arena, Atlanta, Ga.

City mayor George LeBlanc declined to tell CBC News an amount, explaining the cost was “confidential commercial information.”

“We will certainly make as much information as we can that is possible to make public. Something that may be competitively sensitive – we’ll comply with whatever the requirements of the right to information act are,” he said.

Moncton has faced criticism for withholding information about concerts, though officials have conceded in the past that taxpayers lost money on some previous shows.

Tim Bousquet, editor of the Halifax Examiner, told the CBC there are too many unanswered questions about the deal. “What is this costing us? Give us the exact dollar amount,” he said. “Tell us what the potential liabilities here are in terms of loans and all the rest. Have that information on paper on the record before you agree to these things.”