Almost five years after hosting the inaugural Bonnaroo Music
and Arts Festival, Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment have purchased a
major portion of the Manchester, TN-site where the annual music festival is
held each spring. The festival organizers recently purchased 530 acres of the
Bonnaroo site, which encompasses the festival’s performance areas, Centeroo,
and a large chunk of the area used for camping and parking. The festival will lease another 250 acres this
summer for additional parking and camping.
“We are really excited about making this investment,”
Superfly’s Jonathan Mayers said. “It’s an incredible property that can lend itself to
many different kinds of events and gatherings. Our hope is that this will become one
of the premier event sites in the world. We plan to work closely with all local
officials as we determine what types of events will be a good match for this site. We are very
open-minded about working with anyone interested in using the property.”
Before Bonnaroo the Manchester, TN-farm, which was owned by Sam
McAllister, hosted the 1990s-rock festival Itchycoo Park.
Superfly and AC Entertainment are currently working on a master plan for the
land that will be phased in over the next several years. After this year’s
event Bonnaroo’s creators will implement a number of structural changes to the
site and plan to host multiple events each year.vIn addition to annual charitable contributions, the festivals
activities provide annual revenue to the county. Measured in a 2005 study, the
economic impact of the event on Coffee
County was more than $14
million in business revenues and more than $4 million in personal income. “We are looking forward to identifying
long-term programs and projects that could benefit from Bonnaroo support.”
Mayers said. The sixth annual festival will take place in Manchester, TN,
from June 14-17, 2007. While the gathering’s lineup has not been officially
announced, a handful of bands, including Cold War Kids and the John Butler
Trio, have confirmed their appearances.
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