Hotels around Moncton are booking up fast after it was announced that Australian rockers AC/DC will be bringing their Rock or Bust World Tour to the city in September.
The group will perform at the Magnetic Hill outdoor concert venue on Sept. 5.
At least two hotels near Magnetic Hill were fully booked within one hour of Wednesday’s concert announcement.
“Past concerts that have been at the hill a few years ago, we didn’t sell out as quickly, and for a few of the bigger names, we didn’t sell out at all, so it was quite a surprise that we sold out that quickly,” says hotel clerk Sara Haley.
“In less than an hour, boom, we were sold out,” says hotel sales director Jeff Wilbur. “It was fantastic. It is like Christmas in September, really.”
AC/DC last toured from 2008 to 2010 with its Black Ice World Tour. This will be the band’s second stop in Moncton, after performing at Magnetic Hill in 2009 to a crowd of roughly 70,000 fans.
The last time the band was in town, there was roughly $10 million in economic spinoffs. The City of Moncton did use taxpayer funds, but refused to say how much.
The city has hosted shows by the Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, the Eagles, U2 and Bruce Springsteen, among others, since 2005. But the Hill has been quiet since Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed in 2012, due to timing and money.
Mayor George LeBlanc says the city will contribute funds to the upcoming AC/DC concert, but he won’t say how much.
He says revealing that information would put the city at a competitive disadvantage, but city councillor Daniel Bourgeois has a problem with that.
Bourgeois says concerts have not been a profitable venture for Moncton. He says it’s the province that stands to gain from such events, and not Moncton taxpayers.
“Sometimes we tend to sell that farm or really give the farm away to the promoters and let the province off the hook and I am afraid the same thing might happen here,” says Bourgeois.
But Carol O’Reilly, the CEO of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce, says businesses and fans will benefit from the concert.
“There is going to be people who would have never visited our community who are going to come in, they are going to spend money, they are going to want to enjoy themselves,” says O’Reilly.
Restaurant supervisor Carole Maillet says eateries across the city will also reap the rewards.
“We really love to see local events like this and we support them because it brings new people into town,” says Maillet. “We get busy all weekend, our hotels get booked up.”
Tickets for AC/DC’s upcoming concert will go on sale Feb. 16.
With files from CTV Atlantic's David Bell
