| Monday, October 23, 2006 7:36 PM CDT |
State fair saw revenue dip
By Pantagraph staff
SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois State Fair saw a drop in revenue and a small operating loss this year, fair officials say. However, vendors may have had a better 2006 than last.
The event brought in $3.97 million but cost $4.07 million to put on, according to fair officials. The revenue figure compares to $4.14 million in 2005.
The Illinois Department of Revenue reports sales taxes paid by fair vendors climbed in 2006 to $221,522.19 from taxable receipts of $3,616,808, compared to tax receipts of $209,121 on taxable sales of $3,375,681 in 2005.
“Concerts were the biggest thing,’’ fair manager Amy Bliefnick said about the drop in revenue. “Our income was down from concerts, and we spent more money on concerts. We just didn’t have as good of ticket sales as 2005, when we had Rascal Flatts and Simple Plan.’’
The 2006 concert lineup, led by Carrie Underwood on the last Sunday evening, brought in $828,443, compared to last year’s total of $1,063,631.
The fair also makes money from gate ticket sales, vendor rentals and other sources.
“I’m not disappointed with the numbers this year, but you’re always hoping to do better,’’ Bliefnick said. “There was an economic-impact study five years ago on the fair, and they found it was worth $39 million to Sangamon County at that time. The bottom line is the fair makes a big impact.’’
Bliefnick said she plans to stick with a weekend-only concert schedule for the 2007 fair, adding she hopes to find another headliner for the last Sunday of the fair.
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