Stalemate Continues- BM 2005 in Jeopardy
December 31, 2004 - San Francisco, CA

As 2004 comes to a close, Burning Man LLC (BMORG) and SPOTS (Superior Portable Outdoor Tinkle Stations) ended negotiations without budging the 4 month long standoff on several keys points to a new contract between the two parties.


Without a signed contract before April 1, 2005 BMORG would be in violation of its contract with the BLM Bureau of Land Management to have in place an agreement for Portable Sanitation Services and would be in a position to Cancel the 2005 event, which happens to be its 20th anniversary.

Tickets for the 2005 event are scheduled to go on sale January 5th @ Noon.  Ticket sales are expected to be brisk with a minimum of 15,000  tickets selling within the first 2 Days.

The boardroom at the Burning Man offices sits empty as the parties were unable to reach an agreement before years end.  This was the 4th meeting between BMORG & SPOTS since September 10th when SPOTS served BMORG with a Lawsuit filed in Superior Court.  The Lawsuit maintains that BMORG & in particular the citizens of Black Rock City were in violation of the terms of the agreement signed earlier this year by both parties.

Lawyers for BMORG claimed that they had acted in good faith and did due diligence to uphold the letter of the contract.  Expert witnesses testified from LNT (Leave No Trace) and BLM (Bureau of Land Management) as to the track record of BMORG in leaving the Playa in 'The same condition they found it in' - Leave No Trace.

The Burning Man Festival is held on Bureau of Land Management property (BLM) in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada and is in-fact  the largest event held on land owned by the BLM.

This baron desolate stretch of hard pan alkali dust  is located 120 miles north of Reno, Nevada. The towns of Empire and Gerlach serve as guardians of the desert region.

SPOTS has been a real Thorn in the Side of BMORG since the beginning of 2004 as the 10yr agreement between the two parties expired December 31st, 2003.

Both parties have vowed to return to the negotiating table and are confident that a settlement can be reached.  The judge has asked that both parties agree to allow tickets for Burning Man 2005 to proceed without any delay on January 5th Noon PST.

Neither party was available for comment.