Coachella Will Remain In Indio — So Calm Down, Hipsters

Becky Bain | July 6, 2012 10:25 am

Katy Perry and thousands of other questionably-dressed music fans‘ yearly pilgrimage to Indio, California is safe for now, as the Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival will be staying put in the desert-set city.

The fate of the SoCal music fest was in jeopardy when city councilman Sam Torres proposed a 5 to 10 percent ticket sales tax increase that would cost Coachella promoter Goldenvoice $6 million a year and bump up ticket prices an extra $18. “If the tax initiative of putting $4 million to $6 million onto Coachella gets on the ballot, we’re going to take off 2014; 2015 we’ll be at a new facility outside of Indio,” Goldenvoice President Paul Tollett said of the threatened tax hike.

“We think this tax is outrageous for all the things we’ve done with Indio,” added Tollett, referencing the millions of dollars Coachella brings to the economy of the desert city, thanks to ticket surcharges that go directly to Indio, camping fees, and the sale of food and beverages for the 150,000 people who attend each year.

Though the Indio City Council had rejected the tax, Torres planned to start a signature drive to put the measure on the November ballot. Thankfully, due to negative public reaction, Torres has decided to drop his proposal.

“I cannot in good conscience allow this to happen no matter how dire the city’s circumstance,” he said in a release posted on The City Of Indio’s website. “My sincere hope is that we can now move past this episode and I personally look forward to working to enhance relationships.”

Coachella will return in 2013 on April 12-14 and April 19-21. As for how many holograms of famous dead musicians will appear on the lineup, that’s anyone’s guess.

[Via MTV]

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