It’s been quiet on the east end of the Edenvale Aerodrome property since July.
Three months after MF Live Inc. cancelled the Roxodus Music Festival, and not long after declared bankruptcy leaving a long list of creditors in the lurch, it’s still not clear how the exactly situation unfolded or whether all affected parties will ever fully recoup their losses.
The festival was supposed to include numerous world-renowned musical acts, such as Alice Cooper, Kid Rock, Aerosmith, Nickelback and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but it never came to be.
When reached for comment this week, Clearview Township Mayor Doug Measures said very little has changed from the township’s perspective.
The township received legal advice in July from the township's lawyer, Jim McIntosh.
As both Clearview Township and Simcoe County signed the special-event permit with Taurus Investments and MF Live, Taurus Investments is on the hook for municipal costs associated with the festival, which was cancelled July 3.
Taurus Investments is the same company that owns the property on the Edenvale Aerodrome land, which is located on Highway 26 between Barrie and Stayner. They are based out of Fort Saskatchewan, Alta.
According to the MF Live bankruptcy documents, Clearview Township is listed as a creditor, owed $6,725.53.
Since Taurus did not follow through on the festival and there are outstanding debts, the township now has a registration of title on the land.
“We have registered the special-event agreement on the title of the Taurus land and we have notified the promoter, MF Live, that there is an outstanding debt to the municipality,” Measures said this week. “Our registration on the title will assure the municipality of any payment of outstanding fees if and when a move is made by the owners of the lands to sell, refinance, or mortgage the lands.”
The owner of the Edenvale Aerodrome, Milan Kroupa, said this week he hasn’t witnessed any movement on the land currently owned by Taurus Investments.
“I’ve seen nothing,” said Kroupa.
MF Live (under Taurus Investments) and its principal, Fab Loranger, purchased 137 acres at the east end of the airport in late 2018.
Taurus Investments is listed in the MF Live bankruptcy documents as a creditor to the tune of $11 million. The special-event permit with the township was signed by Loranger on behalf of Taurus Investments.
In mid-July, MF Live filed for bankruptcy. A creditor update was posted to Grant Thornton LLP’s website on July 12, alerting creditors to a meeting to take place on July 30.
When accessed now, it appears the information for creditors section has not been updated since prior to the July 30 meeting.
When contacted this week about whether there were any updates since the July 30 meeting, a spokesperson for Grant Thornton referred BarrieToday back to the website.
“We invite you to refer to the trustee’s case website which is used to publish updates and court materials relevant to the bankruptcy proceedings,” wrote the spokesperson in an email, without identifying themselves. “We will be posting further updates as they become available.”
Follow-up questions from BarrieToday were left unanswered.
Eventbrite, the company that helped sell tickets for the four-day concert, announced on social media back in July that they would step in to refund ticket holders. They are listed as a creditor on the MF Live Inc. bankruptcy documents, owed $5 million.
