A needed permit for the annual Bulldog Bash to be held in Starkville is on hold as city officials and Mississippi State University’s Student Association negotiate how to handle liability insurance for the special event.
Bulldog Bash, held annually in the fall, is the state’s largest free outdoor concert, drawing past headliners such as T-Pain, DNCE and Eric Church. For the past several years, the bash has been held in downtown Starkville.
The MSU Student Association submitted a special event request for Bulldog Bash earlier this month but withdrew it after discussions arose that the city and student association would need to purchase separate liability insurance to host the event in the city limits.
In years past, MSUSA has included the city as an additional insured on its policy, exempting the city from the need to take out its own event insurance. However, the university is now maintaining it can no longer do that per state Institutions of Higher Learning rules.
Event insurance ensures that the city is fully protected in the event of a lawsuit. Under state law, the city is inherently insured up to $500,000. But, if an accident occurs and the city is found to be liable beyond the amount that the state covers, additional event insurance would kick in and the city would still be covered. Mayor Lynn Spruill said extra event insurance has been between $6,000 and $11,000, in the city’s experience.
That cost, city officials said, will somewhat be determined by the act MSUSA books to headline Bulldog Bash, which hasn’t yet been determined.
According to Sid Salter, chief communications officer for MSU, IHL policy prohibits the university from purchasing insurance where another entity is listed separately insured.
When asked why this is an issue now when it has not been in the past, the university declined to comment due to discussions with the city being ongoing.
Currently, the city is in discussion with MSU’s legal department about reimbursing the city for the cost of extra event insurance, Spruill said.
“We went in another direction in inquiring of their legal staff what the policy would be as it relates to reimbursing the city for our cost of covering the city under a separate insurance policy and we’re waiting for that response,” she said.
Provided MSUSA submits another special events request, either the university would have to agree to reimburse the city for the additional insurance or the board of aldermen would need to agree to purchase it outright. Otherwise, Bulldog Bash will not be held in the city.
Spruill expects the issue to be resolved one way or the other within the next month.
The city has historically allowed the MSUSA to throw Bulldog Bash either downtown or in the Cotton District and typically provides in-kind services for things like clean-up and police presence.
Additionally, the Mississippi State University Student Association uses a significant portion of its 2-percent food and beverage tax revenue collected from city businesses. That amount this year is probably around $475,000, Spruill said.
This is not the first time Bulldog Bash being held in Starkville has been in jeopardy. In 2016, MSUSA announced Bulldog Bash would not be taking place in the Cotton District, citing issues with local development and business owners, though this decision was later reversed.
