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TDC Suggests Permanent Festival Grounds
03/09/10 - 05:45 PM
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A festival can be fiscally friendly to the area. The fun helps generate thousands of dollars. However, the price to physically put it all together, sometimes tears the possibility apart.

“If you can find a way to make it easier, than we will have more. I think that’s a proven fact,” said event coordinator, Jack Bishop.

Bishop wants a permanent place for celebrations to set up shop. He works the Seafood, Wine and Music Festival and knows that rent racks up.

The cost for the Seafood Festival totals $350,000, $100,000 of that is money that gets thrown away on infrastructure every year.

“It seems like we could have paid for permanent restrooms, fencing, just in the past 2 years with the money we paid out in rent,” said Bishop.

There’s hope to build at Aaron Bessant Park, near Pier Park. Festival coordinators say, this space could fit more than 10,000 people and the event footprint is bigger than Frank Brown Park.
   
“It is feasible, we do know there is a demand,” said Tourist Development Director, Dan Rowe.

The Tourist Development Council thinks it’s a good idea and members voted to conduct a study to figure out how it might work.

“This is not something that we’re going to be able to sit on, we’re going to have to get to work right now,” said Rowe.

The study should take place over the course of 60 days. Then it’s up to the TDC to figure out if the finances are available and balancing the budget is never fun.

The feasibility study could cost up to $30,000.