Details of the Bonnaroo land purchase deal have been revealed with the Coffee County Register of Deeds office, according to the Nashville Tennessean. As reported previously, Bonnaroo producers bought a 530 acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., where the annual festival is held.
According to the report, Bonnaroo producers A.C. Entertainment and Superfly Presents bought the tract for $8,686,482 from owner Sam McAllister, which works out to a price of $16,374 per acre. That’s well above the $8,000-$10,000 per acre the Coffee County Property Assessors office says land is selling for in the area.
The festival now owns the 530 acres alongside I-24 under the New Era Farms LLC banner. Bonnaroo has long-term leases with owners of 300 additional acres at the site.
The investment would seem a good one. Bonnaroo grossed more than $14.7 million last year from ticket sales alone, with money from sponsorships, concessions, and other ancillaries sweetening the pot considerably. Producers have also said they plan to stage other concerts and events at the site.
“We always felt the land would be a good long term investment for us,” Superfly President Jonathan Mayers told Billboard.biz in an earlier interview. “It’s a big investment for us, but we believe in the long term of the festival and other events we can create on the property, and the fact that we’re going to be able to put permanent infrastructure there. We’re really excited about that.”
The festival is set for June 14-17 this year, with headliners the Police, Tool and Widespread Panic on the bill.
