Live Nation concern at event centre provisions
And it said following legal advice, it was advised neither bidder — O’Callaghan Properties, which has planning for a €50m venue on Albert Quay, or BAM/ Heineken Ireland, which has planning for a similar venue on the former Beamish and Crawford site — was likely to be in a position to submit a compliant bid by last Friday’s final tender deadline.
Both developers are vying for up to €16m of public funding as part of a tender process being overseen by consultants PwC.
Despite Live Nation’s opt-out, BAM was the only bidder to submit a final tender. The reasons for the opt-out are contained in a letter sent by Live Nation’s CEO Mike Adamson to PwC in June, and which has been seen by the Irish Examiner.
The news comes ahead of the expected publication today of a crucial report by PwC to Cork City Council on the validity of the BAM/ Heineken tender.
However, speculation is rife that the tender will be deemed invalid, and the selection process will end without the identification of a preferred bidder.
Fears are now mounting that attempts to deliver an events centre in the city could be delayed by months.
Deputy Lord Mayor, Cllr Ken O’Flynn (FF) said it is essential that a resolution is found soon. “It’s bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake. If councillors were involved in this process, we would have had a decision months ago, and we’d be half way through construction at this stage,” he said.
Cllr John Buttimer (FG) said councillors, who are due to discuss the issue at next Monday’s council meeting — the last before an eight-week summer break — should be prepared to hold an emergency meeting over the summer if the selection process can be saved.
In the letter, Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster and the O2 in Dublin, said the tender documents contained provisions that were “neither relevant nor appropriate for a venue of this type”.
“[Live Nation] regretfully will not be able to participate in any tender which is based on the contents of that funding agreement and in particular, with clauses such as the penalty clauses proposed in appendix 7 of the request for tenders,” Mr Adamson wrote.
“Unfortunately, the nature of the clauses proposed are entirely inappropriate for a project involving the provision of a significant equity stake by [Live Nation], which will also ultimately be responsible for the operation of the venue.”
But he did say the firm believes in an events centre for Cork.
“We believe that the right venue at the right time could be a vibrant and commercial operation if due care is taken in the commissioning of the venue to ensure that it is designed in a manner that maximises its potential,” he said.
