ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis has officially canceled its contract for major music festivals that never got off the ground.
Aldermen last year agreed to a 10-year contract with Los Angeles-based ICM Partners, giving the company exclusive access to the Gateway Mall over the Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. ICM had planned "Summer Rocks," a country music festival over Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend rock festival.
But ICM failed to produce a concert for either weekend. Mary Ellen Ponder, chief of staff for Mayor Francis Slay, said in a statement to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1XlLpPu) on Friday that the company paid the city $50,000 for failing to live up to the agreement.
"This ambitious endeavor did not come to fruition despite our best efforts, but the city took in fees that far exceeded the time and effort spent pursuing it," Ponder said. "We will continue to seek out opportunities that will bring St. Louis the type of world-class music experience that it deserves."
ICM's office was closed Friday. An operator said no one was available to answer media inquiries.
ICM arranges talent for events including the Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza music festivals, but has never produced a concert.
Proponents of the St. Louis concerts said they would draw people from throughout the Midwest and South. Lollapalooza draws 200,000 to 300,000 people to Chicago every year.
But opponents worried that the festivals would hurt smaller concerts and events. Last year, more than 1,000 people signed a petition urging the city to reject the festivals, saying organizers were pushing out popular events.