Plans for a 1,000-acre music festival complex in Springfield are on hold.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment has not purchased land near the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and Continental Road, where its annual three-day festival was to be held. And it has no business pending before the town of Springfield Planning Board, according to Chairwoman Mary Clarke.
Nearly a year after a large crowd came to the Springfield Community Center to debate the pros and cons of an annual festival meant to attract 75,000 music lovers, the issue has faded like last year's one-hit wonder.
``I haven't heard much about it recently,'' said town Councilman Dan Rosen.
Thomas Armstrong, Springfield's supervisor, says he's been told that MSGE, like many businesses, has been constrained by the recession.
``Andy Linn (a MSGE executive) said they were hurting like so many others and probably wouldn't go forward until things got better,'' Armstrong said Tuesday.
Several news sources have reported that Madison Square Garden, a division of Cablevision Systems Corp., was among investment swindler Bernard Madoff's victims.
On Monday, a secretary to Mikyl Cordova, spokeswoman for MSG, declined to answer questions about the firm's intentions in Springfield.
Madison Square Garden Entertainment has held options on two parcels of land in Springfield. On Tuesday, Barbara Beckingham, whose husband, Theodore, is listed as the owner of one parcel, said the firm's option remains in effect.
``We're still hopeful they'll go forward,'' she said.
The other parcel is owned by Paul Stitzel of Hamburg, Pa., who said he wanted to confer with others before commenting.
Stitzel's attorney, David Clinton of Cooperstown, said he hadn't heard from MSGE personnel for four or five months, but he has never been told the deal is off.
Stitzel, Beckingham and Armstrong all said they want the land sold and converted to allow concerts to be staged in the countryside.
``I know this has been controversial, but in these times, we'd be very lucky if Madison Square Garden invested in our town,'' Armstrong said.
The complex would provide jobs during construction, perhaps a few permanent jobs, and potentially 75,000 visitors on holiday in Springfield.
``That's a lot to turn down,'' he said.
Opponents have said car traffic would be onerous and natural resources strained if that many people converged on this town in northern Otsego County. They've also noted that Stitzel and Beckingham's land is sensitive, with streams that feed Otsego Lake.
``I'm told there are 23 streams up there,'' said Jeannette Armstrong, Springfield town clerk.
Terry Bliss, Otsego County's planning director, said that if MSGE were to proceed, its proposed project would be subject to further environmental reviews.
More than a year ago, when word of MSG's plans first circulated, the Springfield site was compared to Bonnaroo, a festival held yearly on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tenn., about 60 miles from Nashville.
Operating since 2002, this month Bonnaroo had its best weekend ever, according to Billboard magazine.
``Phish wrapped Bonnaroo 2009 last night, with a sit-in from Bruce Springsteen, drawing the curtain on what producers feel was their most successful event ever on many levels. Aside from thunderstorms on Thursday that brought mud on Friday and sometimes oppressive heat, the event came off well in terms of operations and financials,'' the magazine reported.
About 75,000 people attended, the magazine said.
