MANSFIELD - Heavy-metal diehards will get a free ride this summer when the perennial Ozzfest rock concert returns to the Tweeter Center.

Rocker Ozzy Osbourne, his wife, Sharon, and producer Live Nation have announced that all tickets will be free for every concert on the 25-date "FreeFest" tour, which starts July 7 in Los Angeles.

Fans will get tickets through special Web sites of sponsors underwriting the 12th annual tour.

Although Ozzfest is a regular summer attraction at the Tweeter Center, a Mansfield date has not yet been confirmed, Tweeter spokeswoman Heidi Collins said Wednesday.

Mansfield Selectmen Chairman David McCarter said the free concert was news to him. Free rock concerts are an anomaly these days, and though tickets are available at no cost only through designated Web sites, it remains to be seen whether legions of Ozzy fans will show up at tour venues with nothing in hand.

The Osbournes have said the free tour is a way of giving back to their fans at a time when most summer tours are raising prices.

McCarter said selectmen intend to discuss a likely Mansfield concert with Police Chief Arthur O'Neill, and if necessary, additional police officers will be assigned.

"If there's an issue with them (Tweeter) even handling it at all, we will deal with it in the appropriate manner," McCarter said. "We'll do whatever we have to do to make sure the public safety issue is dealt with."

To get into the concert, fans must go to www.ozzfest.com or www.livenation.com. The sites have links to sponsor elsewhere on the Internet where tickets can be secured. More details about the process are forthcoming.

Those links currently bring fans to the Ozzfest site, which included an announcement Wednesday about the concerts.

"For the last few years, ticket prices have steadily climbed as artists demand more and more money for summer tours," Sharon Osbourne said in announcing the tour. "We certainly want everybody to make money. However, we also want the kids to be able to afford to come out and have an incredible experience.

"If we continued with the traditional touring festival model, we would have no choice but to raise ticket prices again this year."

The tour's producer agreed.

"For the past 11 years, music fans have made Ozzfest the most successful and enduring rock music festival in the United States," said Jason Garner, Live Nation president of North American Concerts. "What better way to say 'Thank you' to the music fans who have made this possible than by inviting them to attend Ozzfest for free?" MICHAEL GELBWASSER can be reached at 508-236-0372 or at mgelbwasser@thesunchronicle.com.