SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The War Memorial almost landed one of the biggest touring acts in the country this summer -- Phish -- for its opening night and five days of rehearsal.

The Oncenter operators scrambled to clear the building by moving the graduations of two big local high schools, who historically used the War Memorial, to other locations.

But at the eleventh hour, the deal fell through, leaving the War Memorial empty that weekend.

According to three sources asked to work on the show, who wish to remain unidentified, there was a tentative deal in place to bring Phish to Syracuse for six days -- five days of rehearsal from June 26-30 followed by a concert July 1.

The deal was so far along that the Oncenter cleared the War Memorial calendar for the weekend. That meant canceling plans to host the graduations of Cicero-North Syracuse and Henninger high schools.

Kelly Carr, general manager of the Oncenter, would not confirm the specifics of the event that bumped the graduations, other than to say the Oncenter had a verbal contract for six days with a band. That deal was ultimately nixed by the "client's" management, he said.

"We had an event that was scheduled to come in at that time," Carr said. "It was the beginning of a tour and a rehearsal before a concert. We thought we had a deal in place. We had a verbal agreement with the client and then unfortunately, like so many tours do, they backed out."

Matt Beach, co-owner of Ale 'n' Angus Pub next to the War Memorial, is certain he knows who the band was.

"I can tell you for a fact that it was Phish. 100 percent," Beach said. "The whole Phish thing was all hush-hush, but things get leaked out. I knew about it a long time ago, maybe January."

Phish's tour kicks off Tuesday, July 1 in Mansfield, Mass. The Syracuse concert would have been July 1 with five days of rehearsal leading up to it. Representatives for Phish did not return messages left Friday.

A concert, Carr said, would have brought in significantly more revenue than the graduations.

"The county hired us to lower the deficit on the building," Carr said. "Unfortunately, graduations don't make as much as concerts."

FILE - People wait outside the State Street entrance to the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse at about 8:30 a.m. to purchase tickets for a Phish concert scheduled for Nov. 22, 2009.

The booking would have been a home run for Syracuse and the Oncenter. The

last time Phish played the War Memorial

, in 2009, the show sold out in minutes and fans camped out in the rain for hours to get tickets. The Oncenter

hosted an all-day party in the exhibit hall

which included live music, beer and food for sale and lots of local vendors.

Phish's tours attract a highly dedicated fan base that regularly fills much larger Upstate venues like CMAC and SPAC. Having the group in town for a week would have attracted national attention and hordes of fans to Syracuse.

The decision was made in December, then, to pave a path for the concert.

Both Henninger and Cicero-North Syracuse had graduation ceremonies scheduled for the War Memorial the weekend of June 27-28. Both have been holding their graduations at the War Memorial for at least eight years.

"We actually weren't told what was happening," said Laurie Cook, the school information officer at C-NS. "We were just told all events would be canceled that weekend and they couldn't host graduation there."

FILE - Families and friends fill the seats of the Oncenter War Memorial Arena for the Cicero-North Syracuse High School graduation in 2013.

C-NS moved its ceremony to another venue -- the SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College -- and changed the date from Friday evening to Saturday morning. Cook said the expenses at both venues were comparable and the staff has been accommodating and flexible. The venue change was approved by the C-NS board of education at its Jan. 6, 2014 meeting.

Local businesses, too, were inconvenienced.

For the last eight years, Ale 'n' Angus has hosted a get-together for C-NS faculty following the Friday night graduation ceremony.

"They get out at 8 p.m. and we get 70-75-plus faculty over here," Beach said. "We do food and a cash bar. They'll be here 'til maybe one in the morning. Here's 75 people who it's their final day of work before three months' vacation. It was good business."

The restaurant hosted a similar event for Henninger Saturday afternoon ceremony, which usually attracted 40-50 people. Beach said he was initially excited when he heard the Oncenter was bringing in a concert, though he'd come to rely on the steady business from graduations.

"Every time Phish plays here they sell out in 12 minutes and it's crazy," Beach said. "The people who attend these shows have a lot of money to spend. These are people who save their money for tours like you or I save money for a vacation. I said, 'If we can't have graduations, then this is still great.'"

But despite the verbal agreement, the band's agent backed out of the Syracuse show. Phish's tour opens July 1 at Mansfield's Xfinity Center and they will play at CMAC in Canandaigua July 15.

Now, the War Memorial will be empty on a weekend when it has traditionally hosted two major graduations. Ale 'n' Angus will likely see less foot traffic. There is a silver lining, however: The Oncenter was able to fill one of the dates, Sunday, June 29, with the American Idol Live tour.

Beach may be unhappy about the lost business, but, as a business owner himself, he understands the risk the Oncenter took.

"The grass is always greener," he said. "They had a sure thing and they tried to bring in something even better. It sounded like a great thing at the time, but it just backfired."