DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Concert-goers attending the Daytona Beach Bandshell Summer concert series will now have to pay admission for the nine-year running event.
Reactions were mixed from concert-goers who now have to pay $3 to listen to tribute bands for Friday night's admission.
"I always came down here because I live right around the corner," Levi Aurora said. "It's a good little thing to do on a Friday or Saturday night."
However, Aurora believes that charging people wasn't the right move.
"In the past, they would drop people in with the free concert and then they'd ask for donations periodically or at the end and I think that would give them just as much revenue, as opposed to charging," Aurora said.
Other concert-goers said they believe it's still a good bargain.
"It doesn't bother me," Jeanne Lee said. "They have nice concerts and we had a good time."
"It's just $3. It probably goes for a good reason and I'm OK with it," Rob Droge.
Susan Cerbone, communications manager for the city of Daytona Beach, said it's a great value for visitors and residents.
The city is only responsible for Friday night concerts and the $3 admission fee pays for all the necessities, she said.
"We have port a-potties and we have maintenance of the facility. We actually have to pay the travel costs and the price to bring the band here and the promotion of the concerts," Cerbone said.
Cerbone said the fee will also help out taxpayers in the long run, and with the extra money, the city can bring in bigger acts to the band shell.
"We wanted to defray some of the taxpayer money that goes into putting concerts on. So, the $3, like I said, is a low charge and a great value," Cerbone said.
Friends of the Bandshell is responsible for Saturday night concerts, which is still free. News 6 called the organization for comment but the organization did not respond in time for this story.