Superfest’s Funding Questioned

When it comes to finding out who got 30 tickets for luxury suites, paid for by state and local money, at the Bayou Country Superfest in Baton Rouge, La., the city’s mayor says it’s his “privilege” to keep that info confidential.

And that “privilege,” which apparently extends to general financial reporting, has locals wondering if taxpayers should continue subsidizing the event.

Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden and others received the perks, including Tiger Stadium tickets and parking passes, in return for subsidizing the two-day Memorial Day weekend concert featuring Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts and Little Big Town. But the Superfest’s financial outcome is a big mystery, despite at least $400,000 in public funds dispensed to bring the show to town.

We don’t release financial info,” Matthew Goldman, spokesman for Festival Productions Inc. of New Orleans, told the local Advocate.

Transparency is often an issue when public funds are used to stage concerts and, since subsidies for Superfest were in the interest of promoting Louisiana tourism after BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster, the effort is deemed important to the state’s recovery.

Festival Productions received three grants of $200,000 for the production – one from the Louisiana Department of Culture Recreation and Tourism, one from the Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and one from BP. They came in the form of sponsorship agreements that included access to a suite with complimentary food and beverage, tickets and promotional consideration, according to the Advocate.

While no financial specifics about the success of the event are forthcoming, Festival Productions – headed up by New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s Quint Davis – did provide a budget to the three funders projecting $5.18 million in gross revenue, according to the paper. It was expected to cost $5 million to stage the bash at the Louisiana State University stadium, leaving a projected profit of $175,000.

Tickets ranged from $50 to $250 per day, and Festival Productions reportedly said 75,000 people attended – though it did not tell local media how many tickets were sold and how many were comped, and did not submit a box office report to Pollstar.

But Davis told the Advocate the event was successful and he hopes to bring the Superfest back to Baton Rouge next year.

“We feel confident that the support necessary to move forward with next year’s event will come together soon,” Davis told the Advocate. “We look forward to continuing to grow this powerful contributor to the cultural economy of Baton Rouge and the State of Louisiana.”

While no one questions the value of the festival to the region, nor that it was a well-planned and executed event, the lack of transparency about the financial success of the heavily subsidized concert has local watchdogs questioning if taxpayers should continue to pitch in for it.

“Without that information, the public has no way to determine the promoter’s profit – and to what degree, if any, a public subsidy was needed to make the concert successful … Taxpayers deserve better,” the Advocate editorialized.