THE BALLOON MAN

Ind. State Fair cancels paid concerts for 2013
from---businessweek.com
By Rick Callahan
October 11, 2012
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana State Fair has canceled paid concerts at next year's fair because shows moved to downtown Indianapolis following a deadly 2011 stage rigging collapse failed to attract big crowds during August's fair, officials said Thursday.

A financial report on this year's fair showed that revenue from fair events that included those concerts was just 40 percent of what officials had expected, totaling only about $1.1 million. The report showed the fair made an overall profit of more than $505,000.

State Fair Commission Chairman Andre Lacy said the downtown concerts at Banker's Life Fieldhouse that included shows by Barry Manilow, Journey and Pat Benatar "didn't work" and won't be repeated next year.

"We just didn't get anything out of that hardly," he said.

Paid concerts were moved from the fairgrounds to the downtown arena after high winds toppled stage rigging on Aug. 13, 2011, killing seven people and injuring dozens before an outdoor concert by country duo Sugarland.

State Fair Director Cindy Hoye said the 2013 fair will still have some "b-level named entertainment" on the fairgrounds' free stage. But she said the lesson from this year's low ticket sales at Banker's Life Fieldhouse is that fair visitors want their concerts at the fairgrounds.

"Our customers want to be here. They didn't understand the whole idea, it didn't work and so we're bringing back some headline entertainment for free on the free stage," Hoye said.
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http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10-11/ind-dot-state-fair-cancels-paid-concerts-for-2013