Northwest Indiana Discussion

I think sparks is unwittingly on to something but again he presents a wishful thinking end that is not supportable. He says it would make sense for the city to work directly with talent agents to run shows at the Civic Center and use the profits to maintain and upgrade the facility there. That doesn't make sense because he doesn't know, or he doesn't confess to know, what the expenses are, let alone the income from ticket and vendor sales that no one will know until after the fact. Will loses, if there are any, be paid from funds that would otherwise have been spent to maintain and upgrade our public asset? If taxpayers are indeed the promoters of this show, on what authority are public funds spent? Can the city speculate and buy oil futures with public dollars?

As to Matt's points, can anyone give a reliable account of the Nellie event? Since decent and bust aren't synonymous, we have reports that are at odds. I'll withhold judgment on the show until it comes to pass or is cancelled. If taxpayers are indeed on the hook, I hope it does well. However even with that outcome, government managers should not be shuffling public dollars like Monopoly money in activities where real loses are possible.

Ok .... this is back of the napkin business planning .....but here goes .....

Most concerts are a 50/50 split to the promoter and the artist. Hammond owns the venue so the costs are minimal other than staff costs. You have some marketing costs, some of which is picked up by sponsorships. Pick up a sponsor or 2 to pay the booking fee and you are done.

It's even safer business wise than Festival of the Lakes where sponsorships have to pay all of the fees or the city is on the hook. Only here you have actual revenue coming in .....

Matt gives a good analysis, but what I worry about is that he may actually be describing the thinking in city hall. His "back of napkin business planning" may be a description of what played out as the mayor waited for his salad when he had lunch with cronies. I think public funds demand more than that, but McDermott does it anyway because the public doesn't demand more. What does it say about transparency when people who involve themselves with civic issues don't know what's going on at their Civic Center?

Lubu,

It's not like they have never had an event at the Civic Center before. 40 years of the circus, WWE, Boxing, Harlem Globetrotters ..etc.

There have been more events in the last couple of years and concerts are coming back.

There are plenty of things to criticize McDermott about, but this probably isn't one of them.

Most people know the history of events at the Civic Center. They also know the history of graft. The books don't balance when thousands of dollars in vendor checks, that are made payable to the city are buried in private drawers. Things like that happen because things like concerts pop up without budgets. Is there a reason concerts are coming back? You can't skim from a concert if you don't have a concert. Is the concert or even a generic event budgeted in the park department's budget? My own back of napkin math doesn't jive with success. Two thousand tickets at $50 will, assuming a 50/50 split, gross Common 50k. From that he's paying staff, back ups, roadies, sound equipment, taxes and the opening acts. Sparks wants us to believe that Common won't roll out of bed for that kind of money. Perhaps these costs will be picked up by the 50 percent taxpayer side. Sure, taxpayers roll out of bed every day for such abuse. When was the last time Common headlined a show that grossed 100k in admissions? Any venue, much less a tertiary one like the Civic Center.

Most artists perform concerts concerts at smaller venues and make a great living doing so. Assuming Common grosses 50 K for a couple hours work, he should be able to net 20K. 100 shows a year like that and Common is making 2 million bucks a year. Typical concerts last 90 minutes to 2 hours. I think most rational people would say making 2 million a year for performing 4 hours a week is worth rolling out of bed for. How much do you make for firing up the losermobile and leaving the house,Lubu?

Sparks should never try to speak for rational people, let alone state how they think. He gives baseless assumptions unconnected to rational thought. His extrapolation of Common's earning power is a dream that can be disproved if you have google and five spare minutes. Common has two shows booked for 2014. He did about a dozen shows in 2013. He actually did a show at the horseshoe in nov of 2012. Some reviews gave high marks that the performers showed up on time and appreciated Common showing off his break dancing skills. The horseshoe is sparsely booked. I wonder why he didn't go there again?
2k ticket sales? Wildly optimistic.
20k net? Off his rocker.
100 dates a year? Certifiable cuckoo.

Isn't Sparks the same guy who, out of the blue, slapped a sales price of $2,000,000 on that bowling alley? Then, didn't he backtrack because he wasn't sure if it was sold or leased out? Then, learned that it had changed hands in the neighborhood of $450,000 (that's almost $2,000,000, right? Maybe in Common Currency).

The fact that you have parlayed a University of Chicago diploma into a patronage job crawling through decrepit Hammond basements says it all, Spunky.

Tom McDermott was busy giving away Common concert tickets and talking optimistically about the events prospects. When does the public get the final accounting on the event? When the inevitable deficit is determined, which city account will be charged for the loss?

Now, the Common show is a "public amenity"? It adds to the "quality of life" in the community? Why should I have to request documents on the financial tally of this folly? No one asked, but you sparks, have provided statistics from the inspections department. Why don't you, as a public service, provide the dollars and cents rundown of this nonsense? Or ask Tom McDermott to post it on his Facebook. I hear he can multitask. I'm sure he can skim, count, and post simultaneously.

It's great to bring good known talent to shows at the Civic Center, but some are not familar with the costs of presenting a show. Stage ,Lighting, Sound Equipment to name few. Some may not remember when Styks rented to Center to practise years ago. That rental was nothing to what it was worth but the place was just sitting there sort of vacant. Many concerts and dances have taken place in the Center, but for it to just sit there is sad. I remember Guy Lombardo played there once at the policemans Ball. If they have proper security and put on a successful concert, more will come. I know nothing about Common and I'm not interested, but contact me if the Lawrence Welk band shows up at any time..

I became aware that the Common concert on Saturday was a 21 and over affair. Must have had something to do with alcohol sales. So I ask, who had the beer concession? On the taxpayer funded radio show on Friday, Tom McDermott told how he visited "The Marsh" the night before. Is it possible "The Marsh" was the concessioneer? Is this how to profit from a money losing concert? Privatize the profits by making the costs public? Taxpayers pay for the entertainment and other expenses, while a Friend of Tom pockets the markup on flat warm swill sold as a refreshment?