Frontier On Verge Of Signing Five-Year Hanging Rock Deal

Mushroom's Frontier Touring company look set to tie up a five-year exclusive deal to hold concerts at Victoria's Hanging Rock venue at a council meeting tomorrow night.

The deal, which was first touted in May, will be voted upon by councillors of the Macedon Range Shire, with the success of the previous events – including concerts by Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen – expected to prompt a favourable vote.

Today the Shire's Mayor Roger Jukes told theMusic.com.au that “the economic benefit to the region grew with each concert held at the Rock.” He added that it was “good to see interest in having more concerts there.”

The five-year deal, which sees the council negotiating a 'substantially' increased fee, including a guaranteed annual payment, would be active from 31 October 2014 and allow for two to four concert per annum. With a maximum capacity of 18,000 per concert, a council report notes than many of the attendances would likely be below that massive capacity.

Council estimate that Springsteen's two shows in March this year generated an economic impact of just under $10 million, the equivalent of supporting 29 full time jobs annually.

The deal would not cover council-run events or events where music is not the primary attraction while Frontier will pay for permit, utility and foot patrol for rubbish fees while continuing to support local suppliers.

Meanwhile, today the ABC reported that a 5,000-strong petition will be presented at tomorrow's meeting by a protest group opposing commercial development of Hanging Rock.

Macedon Range Shire previously received $2 million in funding from the Federal Government for in-ground infrastructure upgrades around the Rock, including water and electricity, and they've now also tabled a proposal for the development of the venue's East Paddock

Mayor Jukes told theMusic that the proposed development of the council-owned paddock is yet to be extensively evaluated and they would be considering both environmental and commercial factors during the proposal process. He said that he expected the process to take up to 18 months and the proposal, or any protests against it, is not tied to the potential deal with Frontier.

The Mayor confirmed that there was “no measured impact on any wildlife as a result of the concerts at the Rock.”

The council meeting's agenda urges councillors to vote in favour of the proposal, with a glowing evaluation of Frontier that cites previous successes, the increased fee and the touring company's effective cooperation with police, council, and local businesses.