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The city of Wilmington plans to pay more than $ 14,000 for front row tickets to the Riverfront Park Amphitheater.
Officials say the tickets will be used to promote economic development in the region. Wilmington City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that describes how tickets purchased by the City of Wilmington can be used.
Council members also filed a budget ordinance that would have paid for the tickets. The order allocated $ 14,124 to purchase a front row box or table at the Riverfront Park Amphitheater. This purchase would give the city four tickets and two passes for up to 20 concerts.
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The article was tabled because the tickets will be paid for using the income the city derives from the venue. This money is not yet available. Tickets and parking passes are purchased by the city at face value, costing $ 13,200 with $ 924 in taxes.
“This space, this box, will be paid for from the revenue generated by the park,†Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo said at the meeting. “No taxpayer dollars will be spent on it.”
At the meeting, council members also approved a revised ordinance outlining how city tickets can be used at the Riverfront Park Amphitheater and Hugh Morton Amphitheater in Greenfield Lake. The ordinance applies to tickets purchased from Live Nation, the contractor the city works with to manage the two concert halls.
Under the ordinance, the tickets will be used for economic development with the aim of attracting more businesses and jobs to the area, Mayor Bill Saffo said.
A draft of the ordinance presented to council members at an agenda briefing on Monday would have allowed the city to distribute tickets for city employee performance recognition and community development in more economic development.
Employee performance recognition and community development were removed from the final ordinance.
“This is only for economic development and job creation,†Saffo said.
The draft ordinance presented on Monday also allowed city council members to attend concerts using tickets paid for by the city. This changed in the final ordinance.
“The board members are going to pay for their tickets,†Saffo said. “I don’t think any of us are asking for free rides or wanting free tickets.”
Tickets not used by the city will be sold to the public, according to Saffo.
Journalist Emma Dill can be reached at 910-343-2096 or [email protected].
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