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Tall ships provider sues organizers of Pinellas event
By WILLIAM R. LEVESQUE, Times Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG -- Local organizers of the Americas' Sail 2002 tall ships festival crowed last June that crowds were enormous and ticket sales brisk before declaring the event a financial success. Now the group that brought the ships to St. Petersburg is asking: Where's the money? The New York nonprofit group Americas' Sail filed a breach of contract suit on Feb. 13 in Nassau County, N.Y., seeking more than $295,276 from St. Petersburg organizers of the tall ships event. The organizers named in the lawsuit are St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, St. Petersburg Events and David Calametti. Americas' Sail's contract for the event specified that the Kings Point, N.Y. group would receive 15 percent of ticket revenue. So far, the group has been paid just $6,500, according to the lawsuit. Based on estimates immediately after the event that at least 100,000 people attended the festival, Americas' Sail says it is owed the $295,000, a lawyer for the group said. "We've been provided with absolutely no information from the group, other than what we've seen in the newspaper, about the number of tickets they sold," said Oyster Bay, N.Y., attorney Anthony DeCarolis. "That's part of the problem." The lawsuit says organizers also failed to reimburse the hotel expenses of Americas' Sail representatives. Representatives of St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership, a non-profit group promoting business development downtown, and St. Petersburg Events, a group formed to organize the festival, declined to comment. Calametti, former chief executive officer of St. Petersburg Events, no longer lives in the area and could not be reached for comment. Attorney Bill Bennett, representing St. Petersburg Events, said the money sought by Americas' Sail "is absurd." "They're basing their figure on the grossest amount of revenue that could be possible," Bennett said. "They don't take into account discounts, children admitted free, tickets given away in conjunction with a sponsorship." He said Americas' Sail breached its part of the contract because it promised five ships and only delivered four. He said the group also failed to provide proper consultation on how to set up the event, which some visitors criticized as being disorganized. But DeCarolis said it did provide extensive consultation. As to one ship failing to make the event, DeCarolis said the nonprofit made its best effort. The missing ship, he said, was delayed by a governmental issue beyond the group's control. After the event last year, St. Petersburg Events president Jack Glasure, who declined to comment for this story, said the event was a financial success. He said, "We have enough money to meet all of our obligations." That led Americas' Sail to question how organizers later told them that they had barely broken even. "On that basis, the responsible parties attempted to settle their contractual obligations for a tiny fraction of what we believe was owed to us," the Rev. William Wendler, president of Americas' Sail wrote in a March 7 letter to Mayor Rick Baker. No settlement took place. Wendler, who could not be reached for comment, said in his letter, "We regret that the actions of St. Petersburg Events has resulted in this embarrassment for the city." The group says it has never before sued a host city's organizers.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times South Pinellas desks | ||||||||||||||||||||||
