Rockford plans to charge ticket tax for shows at Hard Rock Live

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — The city may charge a tax on tickets sold to concerts, events and other live performances at the future Hard Rock Live entertainment venue that’s opening in conjunction with the casino.

The proposed amusement tax would be at a rate of 5% on tickets to shows or 3% if it’s for a sporting event, which is the limit under state law for sports tickets.

The tax is intended to create a level playing field between Hard Rock’s 2,000-capacity entertainment venue and the Coronado Performing Arts Center and BMO Center in downtown, which already have the tax applied to their tickets as part of a special service zone the city created years ago to fund redevelopment efforts.

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City Council members are slated to vote Monday on whether to approve the tax, which would pump money into the city’s redevelopment fund. That fund has paid for projects such as the recent renovations to reopen Millenium Fountain with a splash pad that makes it safe for play, redevelopment at Davis Park, and ongoing improvements and preservation efforts at the Coronado and BMO. The fund also supports arts and cultural initiatives in the city.

“It makes sense to add to that redevelopment fund because it may be needed,” Alderman Frank Beach said during a meeting last month. “I don’t know that I want to be known as someone to raise taxes, but I’ll guarantee you as I travel around the United States and stay in hotels or for entertainment, there’s entertainment taxes there.”

The amusement tax would, technically, apply in other parts of the city as well, but under the proposed rules Hard Rock Casino is the only venue that would be affected. The tax, for example, doesn’t apply to public or private schools, nonprofits or units of local government. It also doesn’t apply to venues with capacity of 750 or fewer.

There’s no estimate yet on how much money the tax could bring in. The city said it doesn’t have enough information yet to know approximately how many events Hard Rock will host and at what prices.

The live venue and the casino, 7801 E. State St., are slated to open Aug. 29.

The proposed tax previously was supported 5-0 on June 24 by the city’s Code and Regulation Committee.

Alderman Tim Durkee, who is not on that committee, argued against adding an additional tax on Hard Rock patrons. He noted that the Coronado and BMO Center, which are government-owned buildings, don’t pay property taxes. Hard Rock will pay property taxes, as well as a host of taxes on gambling revenue and food and beverage sales.

“They pay a boatload of taxes and we’re adding another one because we think it’s equal,” Durkee said last month. “I don’t know why we would tax them anymore, they’re operating on their own.”

Durkee said the Hard Rock isn’t comparable to BMO and the Coronado because, unlike the latter two, it doesn’t receive government financial support.

“One is a private business that’s making it on their own paying all kinds of taxes and is regulated like crazy, and these guys (BMO and Coronado) get government subsidy and they don’t pay property taxes,” Durkee said.

The tax was first discussed about five years ago as the city was negotiating its host fee agreement with Hard Rock, according to City Administrator Todd Cagnoni. At the time, some members of the Rockford Arena Venues Entertainment Authority, which was established in 2010 to oversee the downtown entertainment complexes, raised concern about a level playing field on ticket taxes, he said.

Alderman Mark Bonne said it’s imperative for the BMO Center and Coronado to remain competitive because of how important those institutions are to the economic health of downtown.

“These are anchors to downtown redevelopment,” Bonne said. “East State at the tollway does not need redevelopment, especially once the casino opens.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas