Black Rock City, LLC is the company behind the annual Burning Man festival ending Labor Day weekend in early September, on the playa of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. It does the necessary year-round behind-the-scenes work, sells tickets, obtains permits, holds title to the nearby ranch used as a staging area, employs full-time and temporary staff, etc. In 2001, the LLC purchased a ranch in Hualapai Valley, Washoe County, Nevada for $70,000 to use as a staging area. In 2003, permits to operate a permanent staging area on the ranch were denied according to numerous news stories. A lawsuit was filed with the effect that the 2003 event proceeded. (Apparently LLC employees and volunteers were not able to camp on the ranch but stayed elsewhere.) The resolution of the dispute was apparently not considered newsworthy, but it seems that in 2004 the LLC spent approximately $800,000 on improvements to the ranch.
References
- NYT archives on Burning Man Festival
- The New York Times, "Trouble in Counterculture Utopia", by Bill Werde, Published: September 1, 2003. Copy available here.
- "Burning Man organizers push to use own land for staging", Jeff DeLong, RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, Posted: 5/14/2003
- Before 1998, materials needed for Burning Man were hauled to Black Rock Desert but that’s no longer feasible, Harvey said.
- “To do something so ambitious, a staging area is essential,” Harvey said. “We’re done from being Californians who trucked the entire city over the Sierra.”
- "Washoe commissioners delay Burning Man decision", Jeff DeLong RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, Posted: 7/8/2003
- KRNV TV News, RENO, NV, September 4, "Burning Man organizers seek compromise on staging area" Page does not state the year but it must be 2003.
- Google search for Burning Man staging area
- Black Rock City, LLC operating agreement
- Press release announcing 2003 lawsuit (pdf)
- www.borg2.org/larry.php3 (archived at archive.org) "This required us to spend approximately $800,000 on improvements to the ranch in Nevada that we use as a staging area for the event."
