Music festivals have found a home in Baltimore.
The city hosted the Paetec Jazz Festival this past weekend and the Virgin Festival at the beginning of August. Early returns from both events have impressed event and city officials.
In addition to ticket sales for some shows, the festival created a vibrant atmosphere downtown where visitors were spending money at retailers and restaurants, said Richard Clinch, director of economic development at the University of Baltimore.
“You?re talking about 25,000 people over three days and it?s reasonable to estimate that each person will spend about $50, which is $1.25 million,” Clinch said. “With multipliers, you could expect about $1.9 million to $2.5 million for the city.”
The Virgin Festival, a two-day concert series sponsored by Virgin Records offshoot Virgin Mobile, was held Aug. 4 and 5 at Pimlico. The event drew more than 74,000 people and an estimated $4.5 million to $5.5 million for the local economy.
“Tourism has historically been the driver of the city?s economy for 25 years,” Clinch said. “For a city like Baltimore, these [events] are very important to have ? the goal is that people visit and come back.”
“These are well-known festivals that decided to come to our region, and having these events come to Baltimore says a lot about the market potential here,” Downtown Partnership spokesman Mike Evitts said. “Organizers have said they want to build long-term relationships with the city. Early returns and early crowd estimates lead us to believe that we?ll be in a position to maintain those relationships.”
The Paetec Jazz Festival boasted 20 free concerts, while the likes of B.B. King, Little Richard and Al Green played to large crowds at Pier Six Pavilion. Ticket prices for events at Pier Six Pavilion ranged from $30 to $135.
“Overall, this event was a success on many fronts,” festival producer Marc Iacona said in a statement. “Everyone embraced what we wanted to accomplish.”
