PROMOTERS have confirmed The Rolling Stones will return to Adelaide Oval at the conclusion of this year’s football season.
A new date for the concert is expected to be made “in a very short space of time”, promoter Tony Cochrane told Advertiser.com.au
“It’s been an interesting 48 to 72 hours,” Mr Cochrane said.
“The band absolutely want to include Adelaide Oval in the new schedule ...
“We’re reworking what we can do after football season. It certainly won’t be during football season and as you’re are it’s an outdoor show so we can’t play an outdoor show in the winter.”
“The band are fully aware of that. One of the reasons the stadium was built was to get football there — and, as you are aware, you have got a football game there every week. We had a small window to do this concert and that window is now gone.”
The Rolling Stones announced this morning their Australasian tour had been postponed to enable frontman Mick Jagger to return to New York to mourn the death of his girlfriend, fashion designer L’Wren Scott.
Ms Scott was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on Monday.
The State Government spent $450,000 for the Rolling Stones to perform its only large-scale outdoor concert on Saturday as part of a tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Cochrane said a new venue in Adelaide was never a choice for the iconic band.
“No, all the focus is currently keeping the Adelaide Oval date in the schedule,” he said.
“We sold over 50,000 tickets so we don’t have a choice. The Stones genuinely wanted to be the first act at Adelaide Oval and we’re still aiming for that. Both Mick and Charlie are huge cricket followers and all of that really counted for something when we did the deal back in August. None of that has changed.”
Mr Cochrane also confirmed the $450,000 invested by taxpayers to bring the band here will be returned to the government.
“That will be returned,” he said.
“There’s no question that the opening (won’t) go ahead as planned so from our point of view the government's $450,000 will be returned.”
The rescheduled show will include the giant stage used from Hyde Park and a decision will be made on what to do with the larger than life build in the coming days.
“That’s why we’re working around the clock to make sure this happens at Adelaide Oval exactly as it was,” he explained.
“It’s a big exercise — does that stage go back to Europe or do we hold it here? — we will answer those questions as soon as we can.”
Stadium Management Authority chief executive Andrew Daniels said the money had been paid by the government to the authority, which had paid it to the concert’s promoters.
“The Government will be receiving its money back, there is no doubt at all,” he told 891 ABC Adelaide.
“There were a number of insurance policies in place in the unlikely event that the concert could not go ahead.”
Most of the money went towards the large outdoor stage which was only to be used in Adelaide after being used by the band in England.
Mr Daniels said construction of the the stage - shipped out from the UK - was well advanced when the concert was postponed.
“Until we got the word about the cancellation or postponement of the concert it had to go ahead,” he said.
Work has now started on dismantling the stage.
Workers dismantle the giant stage which was being erected at Adelaide Oval for the Rolling Stones concert. Picture: Noelle Bobrige Source: News Corp Australia Mr Daniels said the concert’s postponement was unfortunate but understandable.
He said next weekend’s AFL Showdown between Adelaide and Port Adelaide would still act as a fitting premier event at the new Adelaide Oval.
An extra $600,000 had been spent on the Oval to ensure it was ready for the Stones’ concert and subsequent AFL fixtures, he said.
“We were going to use the Stones as a trial event,” he said.
“It was one hell of a trial event I might add.”
Mr Daniels said the authority had not expected to make a profit from the Stones concert.
“We were looking at running it on a break-even basis,” he said.
“We would have made some money but the main thrust of the concert was to gain international exposure and stamp Adelaide as being back on the map.”
Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis said it was up to the Stadium Management Authority to pay the $450,000 back to the Government.
“We’ve protected the taxpayer ... if the band doesn’t play we get our money back,” he told 891 ABC Adelaide this morning.
When asked if it was just a case of shuffling money from one part of the Government to another, Mr Koutsantonis said the SMA was “not a State Government body”.
Frontier Touring have confirmed ticket holders can receive a refund if rescheduled dates do not suit them.
Customers have the option of waiting for the announcement of a new date and transferring their tickets, or requesting a refund immediately.
Refunds or date changes may be possible with flights and accommodation too, consumer watchdog Choice says.
For more information on ticket holder rights, click here .
http://www.choice.com.au/media-and-news/consumer-news/news/refund-rights-cancell...Early this morning, Mick Jagger broke his silence over the death of his partner L’Wren Scott , saying he was struggling to make sense of her suicide, while the Rolling Stones announced they had postponed their Australian tour.
“I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way,” Jagger wrote on his website, under a black-and-white photo of a smiling Scott.
Mr Daniels said handover of Adelaide Oval from the construction consortium to the SMA was still expected to occur this afternoon.
He said the $600,000 spent to ready the oval over the past week was not “extra money” but had just been reallocated in the total budget.
Mr Daniels said other essential work had not been “sacrificed” by reallocating the $600,000.
Work including extending the roof at the back of the western stand by 2m to limit water coming in when it rains will still occur but not until April.
On Tuesday, Advertiser.com.au readers were disappointed about the prospect of not seeing Mick Jagger and the legendary band but soon realised the gravity of his situation and posted words of support.
“Forget the concert in Australia, I am so sorry to hear about your girlfriend, you need to go back and spend time with your family and friends,” one post read.
“I think it would be very difficult, even for a professional, to play on after hearing about the death of your partner. The show can wait,” said another.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/to-lure-rolling-stones-to-adelaide-o...
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