Paisley Park tours will happen this week, but not how they were intended.
On Tuesday afternoon, the city of Chanhassen granted a temporary permit for Paisley Park to operate as a museum for tours but only on Thursday, Oct. 6, Saturday. Oct. 8 and Friday, Oct. 14. No new tickets to the tour will be sold.
This is not the permanent solution, but a way for fans who bought tickets to the opening week to get a tour as work continues with the city council on issues surrounding the traffic and zoning concerns.
Paisley Park tours will be given to as many guests as possible who have tickets for Oct. 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 15 on those three dates previously listed.
Refunds will also be provided. Information on how to obtain a refund will be sent out at a later date.
Paisley Park is also in discussions with the Mall of America to host an “exhibition” of Prince’s artifacts and wardrobe — a move they hope to open by early next week.
That exhibition would be available to those who previously purchased tickets to the tour. Ticket holders are also given the option to use their tickets for a later date at Paisley Park, if and when rezoning is approved.
For those with tickets for dates on Oct. 16 and beyond, officials say they hope to arrange additional temporary permits for Paisley Park and will continue to update the situation as they learn more.
The news came as a relief to Orla Kavanagh, of Dublin, Ireland, who invested more than $3,000 in VIP tickets and airfare with her partner.
“It’s just amazing to hear the news and we’re one of the really lucky ones because I know not everybody will be accommodated,” Kavanagh said. “Our tickets were for the sixth so we’re very, very lucky.
Kavanagh didn’t feel lucky on Tuesday morning, after hearing that the Chanhassen City Council moved to table a decision on whether to allow Paisley Park to rezone as a museum.
“We woke up to absolutely devastating news,” Kavanagh said. “We fly out of Dublin tomorrow. So we were pretty heartbroken. And it’s my 30th birthday on that day.”
Supporters of the decision to table the rezoning say the city’s planning commission needs to take more time on the project, including looking at factors like public safety and traffic.
City council members tell KARE 11 the Prince trust, which is being administered by Bremer Bank, was ill-prepared to open the museum this week. They said those who were hired to manage and run the Paisley Park tours, PRN Music Corporation, had a serious lack of planning for both traffic and safety.
Jerry McDonald, longtime council member, said organizers were warned that it would be a risk to sell tour tickets without the city council’s approval.
“The blame lies with the management. They sold the tickets. The city had nothing to do with selling those tickets. We made it clear up front that this was not a done deal. It’s not just going to be rubber stamped because it’s a Prince museum. And if they want to sell tickets, they did so at their own risk. They understood that,” McDonald said.
The council will take up the issue again next Wednesday. However, McDonald said he thinks it will be months until the building is open for public tours.
The city released an official statement on Tuesday, saying the current application, along with any changes, will be up for another vote “on or before Dec. 20.” They reminded fans that they have no authority to issue refunds for tickets purchased.
[Source:-KARE]
