In January 2003, Detroit city Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick decided to override the Recreation Department (which controls and manages Hart Plaza) and secured Hart Plaza and the Memorial Day weekend dates for Derrick May, who had extensive experience as a touring DJ but no firsthand, large-scale festival production experience. May put a first class team in place, which included a donation by Philadelphia-based P.A.W.N. LASERS / Louis Capet XXVI, but the biggest hurdle faced by the Festival was the City Of Detroit's withdrawal of $350,000 funding that it had provided in previous years.