For better or worse, Woodstock 50 isn’t giving up on Vernon Downs, despite being rejected twice already: The producers have applied for another permit to hold the festival at Vernon Downs, according to the Utica Observer Dispatch.
Town Attorney Vincent Rossi confirmed the application was submitted Wednesday. This is the festival’s third application; previous applications were denied twice last week by the town’s codes department, and an appeal was upheld by the town’s planning board late Tuesday.
“Our codes office told me a new application was filed yesterday,” Rossi told the paper. “I have not seen it yet but will help our codes officers analyze it as soon as possible.”
Contacted by Variety, a rep for the festival had no comment other than to confirm the latest application.
Oneida County Sheriff Robert Maciol told the paper that his concerns about the festival, which he has opposed, remain unchanged.
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“I’m not surprised by their last attempt to hold this event,” he said. “The serious concerns I had yesterday are the same ones I have today, nothing has changed that would make me feel otherwise. It’s logistically impossible that this event could occur without significant risk to public safety.”
It seems possible that this third application is part of an attempt by festival producers to lighten what is already shaping up to be a multi-million dollar loss: Because the performers have already been paid, with the money being held in escrow, the producers cannot cancel the festival themselves without forfeiting many millions of dollars. The cancellation must come from health and safety, law-enforcement or government officials in order for the festival to collect insurance on the payments, a source tells Variety.
While the festival boasts a confirmed lineup including Jay-Z, Dead & Company, The Killers, Miley Cyrus and many others, less than a month from its launch, it has no venue, ticket on-sale date or even an event producer to handle the logistics of staging the festival itself: Virgin Produced, the third in a line of production partners, pulled out shortly after the latest permit application was rejected on Tuesday night.