Judge rules in favor of Augusta development authority in lawsuit vs. XPR Augusta organizers

A messy chapter for the Augusta entertainment industry is coming to a close.

In a lawsuit against C4 Live, the organizer behind XPR Augusta, filed by the Augusta Economic Development Authority, Richmond County Superior Court Judge Jessie Stone ruled in favor of the plaintiffs after C4 Live failed to retain counsel after a 30-day period.

The authority claimed in its civil lawsuit that C4 Live broke multiple terms of their sub-lease agreement, including failure to make multiple annual operational payments, refusal to make the necessary improvements at Lake Olmstead Stadium after it was "abandoned" last year, and failure to surrender the stadium and its parking areas in good order and repair.

A damages hearing will be scheduled to determine how much C4 is liable for, and while an exact amount has not been said, it could reach into the millions.

Augusta Economic Development Authority President Cal Wray said on Thursday that they were confident all along that the claims were valid and that the judge's decision further validated them.

Augusta Commissioner Sean Frantom, who was a key part in the deal between C4 Live and the authority, issued the following statement via text: "I'm glad we are past all of this and ready to move forward to put something great at Lake Olmstead Stadium. I believe our next move should to be to engage the community and get their thoughts on the future use of the park."

What was XPR Augusta?

Two years ago XPR Augusta promised to be one of the biggest entertainment events in the area but was abruptly canceled, leaving ticker-purchasers caught in a refund 'nightmare.'

This was to be a major concert event during Masters Week 2022 featuring some of the biggest names in music: Pitbull, Blake Shelton, Nelly, Tim McGraw and the late Jimmy Buffett.

XPR was being organized by C4 Live, a Nevada entertainment company that struck a deal with the Augusta Economic Development Authority: C4 Live would redevelop Lake Olmstead Stadium into a state-of-the-art venue and completely fund the project in exchange for several days of free venue space over the span of 10 years.

Lake Olmstead Stadium was previously home of the Augusta GreenJackets, but after the 2017 season, the team moved to a new venue: SRP Park in North Augusta. Since the cancellation of XPR Augusta, the stadium has largely been left abandoned.

The downfall of XPR Augusta

For a while, it seemed like everything was going according to plan. Construction crews were seen at the stadium in the months leading up to the Masters, and in March, C4 Live reported that they were actually way ahead of schedule, although they gave little detail as to how they managed that.

Soon after that report, C4 Live stopped ticket sales and said existing ticket-holders would be notified of any event changes. Work had been stopped due to reported soil instability. Ticket-holders anxiously waited with no word back, then about a week out from when the concert was supposed to start, it was officially announced: XPR Augusta was canceled.

C4 refused to pay refunds until the show was officially canceled, and after two months, the company said all refunds had been processed, but many customers were furious with the whole process.

"I waited patiently until it was officially cancelled and contacted them again. I spent $880 and I wanted it back," said Michelle Thigpen Rose of Augusta. "They assured me the refunds would only take 20 days from cancellation. After that time had passed, I contacted them again and the lines had been shut off."

She got her refund on May 27 but she still said the whole situation "felt like a scam. It was very unprofessional all the way around."

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Background on the lawsuit between Augusta Economic Development Authority and C4 Live

The development authority filed its suit in February 2023. In April, C4 countersued the development authority and Frantom, claiming that the authority and Frantom knew about the soil instability issues and did not disclose them. Frantom has denied these claims.

According to court documents, in response to the counterclaim, the authority first requested records and other relevant data from C4 in July. The company requested and received multiple extensions for the due dates of this data but still allegedly failed to sufficiently meet the authority's request. This led to a motion to compel discovery on March 1, asking the court to demand C4 provide the necessary documents by a certain date.

C4 also failed to have a steady attorney. The company had two established attorneys on file during the course of this suit: The first was Allan Galis out of Savannah. He was substituted for Mark Carter out of Atlanta in August, but within three months, Carter asked to withdraw himself as counsel. Galis could not be reached for comment as of Wednesday while Carter had no comment on the matter.

On March 8, the court issued an order saying C4 has 30 days to retain counsel or they would lose this case. In the judge's order filed on April 17, Stone said the company failed to meet this expectation.

The judge's ruling also tosses C4 Live's counterclaim.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: XPR Augusta lawsuit: Judge rules in favor of Augusta development authority