Events at the Capital Region MU Health Care Amphitheater made an estimated $756,418 economic impact in its first year, but its budget came out in the hole.
In its annual report, VenuWorks, the amphitheater's management company, called the season a success despite the deficit.
The company hosted 26 events between the beginning of May and the end of October. Between the 11 ticketed events, 9,355 tickets were sold. The majority, or 74.45 percent of ticket sales, were local -- between Jefferson City and Columbia. The next largest amount, around 11 percent, came from out of state.
The Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department, together with the Convention and Visitors Bureau, used ticket sales and where people were coming from to determine an estimated economic impact for the amphitheater. The formula also included wages for employees, cost of goods sold, advertising and contracted services.
The direct spending for lodging, transportation, food, retail and recreation ($326,009) made up the bulk of the estimated $756,418 economic impact for the year, officials said.
"I think economic impact is a huge indicator of the value of that venue to this city and this region," said Lynn Cannon, VenuWorks' executive director of the amphitheater. "I dropped real numbers in there. Those are from our financials. Those are the hundreds of dollars that we spent on equipment and operating supplies and wages and the products that we sold. All of those things were purchased here in Jefferson City and surrounding communities."
While she said the season went well, a few shows didn't turn a profit and the venue's budget was more in the red than expected, Cannon said.
For instance, Cannon said, the Little River Band was one that didn't turn out to be profitable.
"We thought that would be a home run here, and it didn't quite get it," she said. "But the majority of the rest of them were break even or better. Obviously, some of them were home runs. Opening night was a home run."
The venue expected to run a loss of $59,559 for the year. It ended up running a $76,326 loss. VenuWorks Corporate absorbed the loss, she said.
According to the report, income from sponsorships and concessions fell short of expectations.
The concession budget was based on sales at other VenuWorks venues of about the same size, but Cannon will base next year's budget on how sales went this year.
The venue's permanent box office should be up and running by the start of the next season. Renovations of the Ellis-Porter Riverside Park groundskeeper house -- which will house the box office -- is expected to be finished by March.
Cannon said she's already working on next season's lineup of events, including seeking more diversity.
She's working on reaching out to independent promoters in Nashville and St. Louis, which tend to work with more diverse acts.
"I'm from the Chicago area, and I know people from that area so I've also reached out to people there," she said. "It's really not that far away, and they're also touring shows. We're working on that, and I think just the word of mouth of knowing this venue is here (will help)."
She expects the season will start in April and said she's close to completing a contract for a Memorial Day event.
"We've got probably six or eight offers out on different shows," Cannon said. "We're hopeful by January, we'll have two or three that we can announce."