City Learns From Concert Losses

Chris Janson’s May 12 concert at the Emerald Coast Convention Center at Okaloosa Island, Fla., fell short of anticipated revenues, according to a report prepared by ECCC Manager Bill Leaman.

Emerald Coast Convention Center as the opening act. The concert cost the county’s bed tax income $82,412 to stage and generated only $26,888 for a total loss of $55,524. Of the 1,923 tickets available, only 845 were sold, and many of those were sold at “a discount simply to sell seats,” Northwest Florida’s Daily News said.

Although Leaman’s staff began planning for the concert in January, and it was approved by the Tourist Development Council in February, the final artist contracts weren’t approved by County Commissioners until a month before the show date.

Leaman said not enough time was set aside for finalizing the contracts and getting them approved by multiple entities. In addition, ticket sales didn’t start until about five weeks before the show, according to the News.

Another reason Leaman gave for the low attendance could be miscalculating Janson’s popularity on the Emerald Coast.

He said concerts will remain an option for the ECCC, but he will recommend they hire a promotion company to handle the job, the News said.