Okaloosa County BOCC — June 23, 2016 — II. i. Chris Janson Report

POST EVENT REPORT DATE: June 20, 2016 EVENT: Chris Janson & LOCASH Concert, May 12, 2016 PURPOSE Country music is very popular in Northwest Florida and concerts at the Gulf Shores Concerts at the Coast ATTENDEES T and Panama City Gulf Coast Jam have been well attended. Chris Janson’s “Buy Me A Boat” reached #1 in September 2015 and he has performed on The Tonight Show. LOCASH’s “I Love This Life” reached #2 in February 2016. Emerald Coast Convention Center (ECCC) staff initiated contact with these rising country artists to attract people locally and regionally to visit the destination and enjoy the venue. ROOM NIGHTS AF Attendance was much lower than anticipated. Of 1,923 seats available, less than half were sold. Many of the tickets sold were done so at a discount simply to fill seats. Ticket sales got off to a late start with just under five weeks from time of sale to show night. The talent, although riding a very large wave of publicity at the time with chart topping hits, the Tonight show, and the Academy of Country Music Awards, did not represent well at the box office, leading ECCC staff to conclude they had not become as popular yet as had been speculated. Balancing the mission of putting heads in beds with the importance of public exposure to the facility, the TDC authorized a 50/50 split for tickets tied to lodging versus open to the public. Nine hundred tickets were made available to lodging partners. There were very few responses and some who did respond were not satisfied with having to sign an agreement of accountability for tickets developed by county staff for R tickets that they were purchasing. Ultimately, only two lodging partners participated - Emerald Grande and ResortQuest. The Emerald Grande purchased 50 tickets totaling $3,200 in late March. ResortQuest offered to buy 260 tickets at 50% totaling $5,980 in late April when ticket sales were not going well and it became necessary to fill seats. To ECCC staff’s knowledge, after considerable marketing efforts by both groups, ultimately most of the tickets were given to their employees and guests. Based on a ticket sales report, less than 20 tickets are known to have been purchased by out-of-market D patrons. RETURN ON INVESTMENT This event was initiated in January by ECCC staff, approved by the TDC in February with the understanding that staff would start small and use this a test case for determining the feasibility of concert production, and the second contract approved by the Board less than one month before the concert date. The process for contracting not only the artists, but advertising and other services was a lengthy process and not enough lead time was allotted for these tasks. Notable successes include the ECCC’s ability to downsize the ballroom for a more intimate experience for those who did attend, exquisite production and show value, and a smooth admissions process. The barbeque on Bayview Plaza was executed by ARAMARK and very successful in drawing most of the limited customers we had. Though there was very little involvement from industry stakeholders, we appreciate those who pitched in and assisted.  Anticipated Actual Category Seats Price Revenue Seats Price Revenue VIP 75 $75 $5,625 50 $75 $3,750 Front Section (B) 925 $40 $37,000 208 $40 $8,320 Ballroom (C) 462 $30 $13,860 12 $30 $360 Ballroom (D) 461 $25 $11,525 24 $25 $600 VIP Military 2 $70 $140 Front Section (B) Military