What was once billed as being the rejuvenation of the Lake Olmstead Stadium with concerts featuring top-tier names has turned into an unusable mud pit, and now the Augusta Development Authority, along with the city of Augusta, has filed suit against C4 Live entertainment group for breach of contract.
The Development Authority is the lead plaintiff since it was the organization tasked with negotiating a sublease with C4 Live, and the city is a party because it owns the land and therefore has suffered the damages, according to the lawsuit filed.
The suit asks for “actual and contractual damages in an amount to be proven at trial, but in no event less than $1,000,000.”
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C4 Live entertainment group blasted on the scene in 2020 with promises to convert the former baseball stadium into a premiere music venue. The agreement reached with the city included that C4 Live would conduct renovations on the structure and grounds, contribute annually $25,000 to a capital maintenance fund and carry the proper insurance for the facility.
Documents and advertisements show that C4 Live presented itself as a national entertainment group that had managed Super Bowl events in the past.
Sources close to the matter who would only speak off the record say it seemed to be a match made in Heaven, but turned out to be the date from Hell.
Bulldozers and jackhammers went to work on the stadium, construction fences were installed and C4 Live recruited Steven Kendrick, who was planning a run for Augusta mayor at the time, as the face of its branding campaign.
The company announced the first series of concerts to begin in 2022 as the XPR Augusta Event. C4 Live advertised a week-long music and entertainment event with headlining performances from music stars Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton.
The weeklong series was to be held the same week as the 2022 Masters Tournament.
While the demolition of the bathroom fixtures and locker rooms were underway, the company even held a job fair to recruit positions such as event coordinators, bartenders and food servers, according to past media accounts.
Then, suddenly the bulldozing stopped, and the grounds were vacated. The company announced the concerts were canceled, and ticket buyers had to wait months for a refund.
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According to representatives of C4 Live at the time, the soil underneath a planned set of bleachers was unstable, and they were studying how to remedy the problem; yet, the company has never explained why such a minor problem caused the entire capital project to collapse.
The lawsuit that was filed on Feb. 24 states:
“Although Defendant was obligated to make certain improvements under the SubLease, Defendant has abandoned the project at the Stadium refusing to perform said improvements due to alleged ‘subsurface conditions.’ However, Defendant was fully aware of the soil conditions as they existed prior to performing any work at the Stadium.”
C4 Live could not be reached for comment, and the company has 45 days to respond to the lawsuit.
Local attorney Jim Overstreet, who represents the Augusta Development Authority, says it is premature for him to comment on the case as C4 Live has not had time yet to respond to the filings.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
