Phish [ tickets ] has won county approval to host a multi-day festival in central Florida from December 29th through January 2nd, clearing the way for more formal negotiations over security issues and residential concerns. Should plans come together in Florida, local officials are hoping to cash in on a financial boon like those experienced in upstate New York and Maine at previous multi-day Phish events.

The band has not officially announced plans to host their New Year's event in Florida and is known to have been assessing other sites. An original plan to create a New Year's festival in Hawaii unraveled earlier in the year. The band cited slow-moving negotiations and clearances surrounding that site as unacceptable.

Florida does not yet appear on the band's 1999 tour itinerary. A new leg of dates which includes a sweep through the West Coast and new Midwest and Northeast stops was released last week. According to a Sonicnet report, the band will not perform a Halloween show this year, making the New Year's Eve event more of a magnet for Phish fan pilgrimage.

The Palm Beach Post reports that the vote to approve the proposed Phish event was unanimous. About 500 acres of ranchland would be set aside for the event, which would include Phish performances on December 30th and 31st, according to planning director Bill Royce.

County Sheriff Ed Miller has expressed a number of concerns about the proposed event, noting that his small police force would not be able to adequately handle the expected crowd of 60,000 to 70,000. Event organizers have offered to provide a security staff of 300, but Miller wants sworn police officers on the premises, in part to enforce the county's zero-tolerance drug policy.

Phish will kick off a summer tour on June 30th in Bonner Springs, KS. Tickets for shows in Holmdel, NJ; Pittsburgh, PA and Toronto, ONT are expected to go on sale this weekend.