CCE, Bernalillo County Agree On Revenue-Sharing Plan

After five months of intense negotiations, Bernalillo County and Clear Channel Entertainment have agreed on a revenue-sharing plan from ticket sales and other sales at the 12,000-capacity Journal Pavillion in Albuquerque, NM. Both parties have been in a two-year dispute over who the responsible party is for the more than $2 million in construction-cost overruns. The final building cost of the venue was $6.4 million; the county financed its half of the original cost with revenue bonds (CelebrityAccess, March 8).

Under the agreement, which is subject to approval by the property owner, the state Land Office, the county will pay the $2 million by forgoing its share of the proceeds from the 2000 and 2001 concert seasons, about $1.4 million, reports the Albuquerque Tribune. Additionally, the county will build another 2,500 parking spaces at the site. It will also supply untreated water from an on-site well to Clear Channel. The county pays the city for the water, which costs about $4,000 a year.

Based on the past two seasons, the county expects to receive about $700,000 in revenue-sharing payments from Clear Channel this year, according to county spokesperson Liz Hamm. The county gets 6 percent from ticket sales and 10 percent from other item sales.

"We came pretty close at some points to not having an agreement," County Manager Juan Vigil told the paper. "It was hard because they don't run government and we don't run entertainment."