By Tom Hellauer, Denver Gazette | While Red Rocks has been busy smashing attendance records in the past few years on its way to becoming the world’s most attended concert venue in 2021, a research group has been working to quantify the Colorado music institution’s economic impact.
Red Rocks’ concerts generated $717 million for the region’s economy in 2022 alone, according to a study conducted by BBC Research & Consulting (BBC).
BBC’s report, “details the ripple effects of dollars spent in the Denver Metro Area and the State of Colorado by fans, tourists and those who bring shows to the 83-year-old venue’s iconic stage,” Denver Arts & Venues, who commissioned the study, wrote in a press release.
More than 1.7 million people attended a concert at the venue’s 217 ticketed events in 2022, more than doubling the amount of yearly events held just a decade ago.
Payroll alone drew $216 million for the 7,300 full and part-time jobs created by the venue and fans spent $40 million on concessions. The venue is now the top-selling, on-site location in the world for White Claw seltzers and sold over 110,000 hot dogs in 2022, according to the report.
According to BBC and AXS, Red Rocks’ ticketing provider, somewhere between 27 and 40% of concertgoers may be from out of state. All those dollars spent by traveling fans are subject to sales and lodging tax. BBC found the top markets outside of the Denver Metro for Red Rocks tickets included Chicago, New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Dallas/Fort Worth, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles.
“This study proves what Denverites have known for years: Red Rocks, and Denver’s creative community, are powerful economic and cultural forces for our city,” Mayor Mike Johnston said in the release.
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Read the rest of the story here:
https://denvergazette.com/arts-entertainment/red-rocks-concerts-generated-more-than-700-million-for-area-economy-in-2022-study-says/article_95e7c04c-67af-11ee-8a06-b7959d7639cb.html
E-mail Tom at: tom.hellauer@denvergazette.com
[Thanks to Alex Teitz for contributing this article! http://www.femmusic.com]
October 12, 2023| Colorado Music-Related Business| Barb Dye