Roughrider Days concert falls short
Ticket sales for the Gloriana and Bomshel concert over the weekend were much lower than expected, officials say.
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Ticket sales for the Gloriana and Bomshel concert over the weekend were much lower than expected, officials say.
The event, which was part of Roughrider Days Fair & Expo, may have been a loss of up to $2,000, said James Kramer, Dickinson Parks and Recreation director.
“Some years you make and some years you lose,” Kramer said.
Dickinson Parks and Recreation and the Roughrider Commission co-sponsor the event, he added.
However, over the 11 years a band has played at Roughrider Days, organizations involved have lost more then they’ve gained over the event, Kramer said. He estimated the average deficit created by the band to be at about $1,900 a year.
The two organizations cover the loss through additional sponsorship requests or fundraising, he added.
Despite the deficit, a live band will likely continue to be a staple of Roughrider Days, said Kevin Stockert, Roughrider Commission member.
“It’s part of Roughrider Days Fair & Expo and it’s important that our fair is complete,” Stockert said. “It’s important that we have all different kinds of events, because that’s what attracts people to Dickinson.”
The event, on average, loses money, but those who come to the concert inject funds into other events and businesses in the community, Stockert said.
“We run a lot of events that don’t make money, but they’re good for the community,” Kramer added.
It cost $20,000 to book Gloriana, and Bomshel was $7,500, Kramer said. Ticket prices, which were $25 and $35, depend on the cost of the band, Kramer said.
“It’s also based on the average number of people that you draw each year,” Kramer said. “We use about 1,600 as that average.”
However, preliminary counts show less than 1,100 tickets were sold for the concert, he said.
Terri Thiel, executive director of the Dickinson Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, said it’s hard to predict which events will attract people.
If area residents don’t know the band, they likely won’t go to it and sometimes weather plays a role, she added.
“It also ended up that this year more events fell on that Saturday than what they normally do,” Thiel said.
Kramer agreed.
“Having the parade, the family fun day, the art in the park, the derby and the concert — that’s a lot of activities in one day,” Kramer said. “Something’s going to give and it’s typically going to be the last one of the day, which was the concert. And it’s not anybody’s fault, it’s just that things get scheduled on certain days for a reason.”
Other events held that day had much better attendance. The preliminary count for Family Fun Day is about 2,100 and about 5,235 for Arts Roundup, according to e-mails from Thiel.
Tags: roughrider days, news, local, gloriana, bomshel
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