Muncie Downtown Development lost $47,500 because of End of Summer Jam, citing the afternoon time, which was changed to accommodate the Ball State University football game, as a reason.
At an Urban Enterprise Association board meeting Tuesday, Ken Hughes, interim director of downtown development, reported that End of Summer Jam left the organization $47,500 in the red for that event, the largest hit the organization has taken since it started downtown programming.
About 2,600 people went to End of Summer Jam, which featured Cheap Trick and .38 Special, but downtown development was expecting between 4,000 and 4,500, Cheryl Crowder, event coordinator, said.
Crowder said she thought the time of the concert was a factor in the low attendance. Downtown development moved the concert from an evening show to an afternoon event when the Ball State vs. Indiana University home football game was announced.
"It definitely affected our sales to some degree," she said. "It's hard to do a rock 'n' roll show in the afternoon. You lose some of the ambience."
End of Summer Jam traditionally is on the weekend after Labor Day. Crowder said the concert and the football game shared sponsors, and changing the time of the concert reduced some conflicts.
"We tried to make the best with what we had," she said.
The 2006 End of Summer Jam is one of two downtown development events Crowder said she remembered losing money. The first was Downtown Throwdown, which was part of the organization's first year of events.
"That was marketed to Ball State students, and we didn't do real well with that one either," Crowder said.
However, the occasional problems coordinators have with planning events in conjunction with Ball State will not affect how they work with the university.
"This one experience does not exclude a relationship," Crowder said.
Downtown development events are self-supporting. Big events such as Muncie Mardi Gras do bring in some revenue, though. Crowder said the 2006 Mardi Gras celebration brought in $60,000 for downtown development.
"In the end, you never want a hit like losing [$47,500], but the success of Mardi Gras will keep us afloat," Crowder said.
Hughes said the event went well, and he did not see any reason for modifying any plans for next year's End of Summer Jam.Downtown development's next event is the ArtsWalk on Oct. 5.Gabriel Khouli n Chief Reporter
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