Seneca making offer to Temptations to play Memorial Day

The City of Seneca has offered famed Motown group, the Temptations, a contract to perform during Seneca Fest 2016 over the Memorial Day weekend. Seneca Mayor Pro-tem Ronnie O’Kelley said the city council agreed to pay $30,000 for the performance, with Hospitality and Accommodations Tax (HAT) funds paying the bill. “The main thing you look at is how many people can we bring to this event because every person that comes spends money in this town and that is what pays for it. You are always going to have a few negative people out there who say I think that is too much money, maybe we could do something else, but HAT money cannot be spent on general projects. You cannot fix buildings, you cannot give pay raises, and it is money that is allocated to generate revenue for businesses in this town. So, you start searching and look at bands that would generate people. You try to get a band that a person in their 20s knows and a person in their 60s knows, just people in general know the name because the name will attract people. So, we narrowed it down to the Temptations. It is going to be a good night in Seneca, South Carolina. Weather permitting, we will pack it out.” The city plans to stage the Saturday night concert in the Gignilliat Community Center instead of Norton-Thompson Park in downtown. The city is considering making the Temptations concert a ticketed event.