Woodstock 50 which is scheduled to take place in upstate New York on August 16-18 is now challenged yet again. The venue location, Watkins Glen International pulled out when organizers failed in delivering on a $150,000 payment due back on May 15. In statement, venue management say, “Watkins Glen International terminated the site license for Woodstock pursuant to provisions of the contract. As such, WGI will not be hosting the Woodstock 50 Festival.”
Speedway president, Michael Printup made several attempts to collect payment before issuing a breach of contract notification on June 3. It’s worth noting that the payment date for the $150,000 sum came a day after Woodstock 50’s organizers lost a court battle with former financier Dentsu over the return of $17.8 million from the festival’s bank account. The $150,000 owed was actually the second portion of a $300,000 licensing fee that had been negotiated for the Watkins Glen International Speedway to host the event.
The festival still hasn’t started selling tickets or even confirmed how much tickets might cost after initially announcing sales would begin on April 22. Ticket sales were originally set to coincide with Earth Day on Monday; however, the sales have been postponed due to unknown reasons, sparking rumors that the festival may be cancelled altogether.
In spite of all this, chief organizer Michael Lang, who planned the original Woodstock festival in 1969, insists the show which features The Killers, Dead & Company, Jay-Z and more will take place at another location. “We confirm that we will not be moving forward with Watkins Glen as a venue for Woodstock 50,” representatives said in a statement. “We are in discussions with another venue to host Woodstock 50 on August 16th—18th and look forward to sharing the new location when tickets go on sale in the coming weeks.”
Schuyler County administrator Tim O’Hearn commended the venue’s decision in a diplomatic statement of his own. “This comes as a major disappointment to us in that we looked forward to hosting this iconic event in our community,” he said. “While today’s announcement is difficult to absorb, it is not completely unexpected, given the well-publicized delays related to this planned event. We commend Watkins Glen International for their actions, which we feel are in the overall best interest of the community.”
CID Entertainment, the production company that replaced Woodstock 50’s original producer Superfly, has pulled out of the event, Billboard reports. The New York State Department of Health also issued a statement saying the festival’s permit application was rescinded.
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