The numbers are finally public, and they are big.
A staff report to council indicates a deficit of $247,187. Add to that the council grant of $80,000 and taxpayers are on the hook for $327,187 to pay for this year's event. City Council had made a three-year financial commitment and this was the final year.
"Based from online sales 49.79% of concert goers were from out-of-town," states the 15 page report. "A total of 1,204 tickets (577 for Friday and 627 for Saturday) were sold this year. With the inclusion of promotional and sponsor tickets the total number of people attending the concerts was 1,845 (896 for Friday and 949 Saturday). The committee feels the cause of the decrease in sales was because the public didn’t support the idea of moving the concerts inside and having two separate tickets versus a weekend wristband.
"Financially, the event ended 2018 with a $247,187 deficit. The deficit was entirely a result of the concerts."
That means it actually cost the city $205 per concert-goer.
SITP generated $316,145 in revenue and incurred $563,333 in expenses. The financial results include the City’s $80,000 financial contribution.
Read the entire report here.
Revenue Highlights
The following is a summary of the revenues from the event:
Sponsorship (Includes Spring Midway) $61,185
City Contribution $80,000
Vendor/Revenue Concessions $12,206
Midway (SITP Only) $43,084
Wristband Sales $64,503
Celebrate Ontario (TBC) $50,000
Misc. Revenue $1,061
Advertising Revenue $750
Reimbursement of Expenses $3,356
TOTAL: $316,145
Expense Highlights
Administration $2,158
Admissions $4,110
Student Salary $8,645
Marketing $14,979
Main Stage $44,073
Evening Musical Entertainment $387,145
Daytime Programming $21,743
Silent Dance Party $24,516
Emergency Services & Security $18,054
Facilities $32,983
Volunteer Services $1,189
Reimbursement of Expenses $3,738
Total: $562,333
Economic Impact
"The 2018 Summer in the Park Festival resulted in a $2.04 Million economic impact on the community. The economic impact is calculated using the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s Regional Economic Impact Model. This is the same model that is used to estimate economic spinoffs for events of this type throughout Ontario," says the report.
