RALEIGH -- U2's Oct. 3 concert at Carter-Finley Stadium provided N.C. State's athletics department with more than $600,000 in extra revenue for the current fiscal year, school officials confirmed Tuesday.
According to documents obtained through a public records request, Live Nation, the concert's promoter, paid N.C. State $300,000 to rent Carter-Finley Stadium.
Under the agreement with Live Nation, N.C. State also kept the proceeds from parking ($166,000) and food and beverage concessions ($175,858). The concert resulted in a net profit for N.C. State of $641,858 after expenses.
That's a significant one-day haul for a department whose operating budget for 2008-09 was about $39.1 million.
"It's a nice chunk of change," N.C. State athletic director Lee Fowler said. "It's something you'd like to do every year."
Fowler said that while N.C. State is not in the business of actively seeking concerts, the athletic department will remain open to concert offers in the future. The main concern for N.C. State was the condition of the turf with a home game against Duke set to be played just one week after the concert.
But Live Nation paid $250,000 into escrow for the field to be resodded, and coach Tom O'Brien was pleased with the condition of the turf for the Duke game. Almost $100,000 remains for new sod to be laid after the spring game. Any funds left after that must be returned to Live Nation.
