Insurance Costs Lead to Ticket Tax at Pennsylvania Theater

The southwestern Pennsylvania township where a major concert amphitheater is located plans to charge a 5 percent tax on tickets so it can afford a police force to patrol the venue.

The Hanover Township supervisors last year voted to disband its eight-officer force because it could no longer afford liability insurance. The township had been sued several times by people who claimed its officers abused them during arrests at First Niagara Pavilion.

But on Monday, township officials voted to advertise the tax on tickets to pavilion events and those sold at the Pepsi Roadhouse, a smaller indoor concert venue nearby. A final vote on the tax is March 30.

Township officials tell the Observer-Reporter newspaper in Washington, Pa. that First Niagara supports the tax which officials hope will raise $468,000. The concert season opens May 6 and, currently, state police patrol the township.