Sudbury starts to refund Hedley tickets

The City of Greater Sudbury says as of Wednesday, the cost of 41 tickets for the upcoming Hedley concert hasbeen refunded back to people who asked.

This week, a Sudbury organization called on the city to cancel the upcoming March concert.

The call came after CBC News reported the story of an Ottawa woman who is accusing the lead singer of the band, Jacob Hoggard, of rape. The band's management team dropped Hedley earlier this month after allegations of sexual misconduct involving band members.

A statement from Hoggard's lawyer says the interaction between him and the Ottawa woman was consensual.

On Wednesday, Shannon Dowling, a spokesperson with the City of Greater Sudbury confirmed, 41 tickets had been fully refunded, not including processing fees.

She says to date, about 2,500 tickets have been sold for the March 14 concert.

Dowling says the city has a facilities rental contract with concert promoter, Live Nation and says it's up to the promoter to decide if the concert will go ahead.

Ticket refunds are not a normal practice for the city. Dowling says when arena management became aware of the allegations against Hedley, they expressed concern to Live Nation, who in turn agreed to refund the tickets.

She Matters, a support group in Sudbury for sexual assault survivors, says it plans to hold a peaceful protest outside the arena if the concert goes ahead.