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<p>SCRANTON &#8212; The deadline for negotiating Live Nation&#8217;s contract with Lackawanna County to lease the Pavilion at Montage Mountain has been extended.</p><p>An amendment to the Concert Concession Agreement was approved Wednesday by county commissioners Patrick O&#8217;Malley, Jerry Notarianni and Lareen Cummings, giving both parties until Sept. 1 to decide whether they will extend the contract until 2021.</p><p>In the meantime, Live Nation will continue to promote concerts at the pavilion throughout 2016.</p><p>Country solicitor Donald Frederickson said negotiations have led to concessions in favor of the county.</p><p>&#8220;We got an additional $75,000 for the county to help cover the cost of the shares,&#8221; Frederickson said. &#8220;And they&#8217;re going to perform some engineering regarding the parking up there to determine how many spots there are and how we can best park people because there&#8217;s always been a parking issue.&#8221;</p><p>County chief of staff Andrew Wallace said additional safety features were also negotiated in concern of the shows that will be held throughout the year.</p><p>&#8220;They will have hospital staff on during festivals,&#8221; Wallace said. &#8220;They will have police on site, and they will be making sure that they&#8217;re working closely with the county.&#8221;</p><p>Wallace said financial concessions went beyond the $75,000 agreement.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s actually closer to $100,000 because we&#8217;re going to get additional expenses (for) operating the Live Nation office up there,&#8221; Wallace said. &#8220;They are going to pay us for electricity and other expenses. So the county gets a step in the right direction.&#8221;</p><p>A Times Leader article from March 18 detailed the contract agreed upon between Live Nation and the Pavilion at Montage Mountain, also known as the Lackawanna County Performing Arts Center, in 2011.</p><p>At the time of that contract agreement, Live Nation was required to pay $550,000 in annual rent and $90,000 for a 50 percent share of naming rights to the venue.</p><p>The article also stated Lackawanna County taxpayers lose $110,000 annually to the venue&#8217;s annual debt service.</p><p>Wallace said the county government will continue to negotiate the contract for the balance of the next four years.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The crowd during the 2014 Peach Music Festival. The annual event will be in its fifth year in 2016. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_peach3-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>The crowd during the 2014 Peach Music Festival. The annual event will be in its fifth year in 2016. </caption0><photoCredit0>Ryan O&#8217;Malley | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_8.8Bob-WeirT-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Bob Weir and RatDog performed at the 2014 Peach Music Festival. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/web1_8.8Bob-WeirT-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Bob Weir and RatDog performed at the 2014 Peach Music Festival. </caption1><photoCredit1>Times Leader archive photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Negotiations a &#8216;step in the right direction&#8217;</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Matt Mattei</p><p>mmattei@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or <a href="mailto:Twitter@TLArts">Twitter@TLArts</a></p></shirttailMeta></div>

Extension on Live Nation/Pavilion at Montage Mountain contract negotiation ‘step in the right direction’ for Lackawanna County