Mushroom Tie-Up Five Year Exclusive Hanging Rock Deal

The Mushroom Group's Frontier Touring have tied up an exclusive five year deal for concerts at Victoria's iconic Hanging Rock location after Macedon Ranges Shire council voted in favour of the plan at a meeting last night.

The deal was expected to be given the green light from councillors given the economic and tourism benefits the region receives from the concerts, which have included a Helpmann Award-winning Leonard Cohen concert, a Rod Stewart performance and Bruce Springsteen shows worth almost $10 million to the region.

Mushroom Chairman Michael Gudinski had refrained from commenting on the proposed deal, which was almost caught up in community concerns over proposed development of the site's East Paddock, until it was confirmed.

“The extended term allows us the ability to plan further ahead and will mean we can implement a number of exciting initiatives that will help ensure Hanging Rock continues to attract the high calibre artists that we have had to date,” Gudinski said today.

“It has long been a passion of mine to put Hanging Rock on the international map as an iconic concert location and help to further develop the Macedon Ranges area as a leading tourist destination. It already feels we've made major inroads into achieving this over the past three years. The involvement and support of local wineries, vendors and the wider community has further added to the appeal of these concerts and we're looking forward to continuing the development of these relationships over the next five years.”

As reported yesterday, the deal is effective from 31 October 2014 and allows for two to four concerts each year of up to 18,000 patrons. The council will benefit having negotiated a higher license fee for the site and have implemented a guaranteed annual fee, regardless of how many concerts take place.

Macedon Ranges Shire Mayor Roger Jukes told theMusic that the economic benefits to the region have grown with each subsequent concert at the 'Rock.

“Frontier have been highly professional to deal with and have shown the ability to continually improve arrangements and present professional and well-organised concerts, and we are looking forward to continuing this partnership over the next five years,” he said.

Today the council also moved to allay fears over a development proposal for the venue after a protesting petition was presented at last night's meeting.

Mayor Jukes has expressed to theMusic that he expects the proposal process to take 18 months and that commercial and environmental concerns will be addressed during that process.

“Everyone agrees that there is a vision to preserve and enhance the environmental amenity and existing infrastructure at the Rock, but the key point of the matter is that additional finances are needed to achieve this and Council has resolved to explore one option – private investment in the East Paddock,” he said today.

“Any future development is dependent on interest from a private investor, funding from state and/or federal governments and would be subject to normal planning processes, which includes community consultation.”

The council previously received $2 million from the Federal Government for in-ground infrastructure upgrades, including water and electricity services, at the site.