ALL CONCERTS FREE AT 2007 STANISLAUS COUNTY FAIR

Turlock – For the first time in more than three decades all concerts at the 2007 Stanislaus County Fair will be included with admission.

            In a majority vote at its September board meeting Monday, the Stanislaus County Fair board of directors voted to discontinue ticketed celebrity headliner concerts normally held in the fair’s FoodMaxx Arena. In past decades the Stanislaus County Fair has featured two or three additional celebrity headliner concerts in the Arena, which were in addition to fair admission.  Ticket prices for paid concerts ranged between $19 and $30, depending on the act.  However, escalating costs of celebrity headliners have risen to a point that they are no longer affordable to the Stanislaus County Fair.

            The fair board will continue to provide 10 nights of free concerts included with fair admission on the Budweiser Variety Free Stage. 

            “The rising cost of headliner acts has made it difficult for the fairs throughout the state to continue providing affordable ticketed concerts,” said Tony Leo, chief executive officer of the Stanislaus County Fair. “In some cases, artists’ fees have tripled in the last five years, creating a much wider divide between production costs and ticket revenues.”

            The fair cited former FoodMaxx Arena headliner Brad Paisley as an example of the rising cost of entertainment fees.

            “In 2001, Brad Paisley’s fee was $20, 000,” Leo said. “When he returned to the fair in 2004, his fees had more than tripled at $65,000. This year’s country act came at the price of $87,500.”

“The fair has paid up to $150,000 for celebrity headliners, netting financial losses to the fair upwards of $65,000.”

In a meeting earlier in the month, the fair’s entertainment agent advised its board of directors that the caliber of celebrity headliner acts that could possibly fill the FoodMaxx Arena could cost upwards of $200,000 per act.

Escalating entertainment costs would drive concert ticket prices well into the $40 to $50 range, making the fair’s concerts only accessible to an elite few.  In addition, a $200,000 entertainment fee is a financial risk the Stanislaus County Fair board is not willing to take.

Leo states that the fair board and staff have worked hard to maintain celebrity headliner concert ticket prices in the $19 to $30 range, in an effort to make the ticketed concerts accessible to most fairgoers.

Coupled with rising production costs and dwindling audiences at the fair’s ticketed concerts, five out of six celebrity concerts in the last two years have failed to recuperate their cost.  Yet, attendance at the fair’s free concerts included with fair admission, have continued to grow.

            To fill the open three nights in the FoodMaxx Arena the fair board is exploring the possibility of expanding its motorsports lineup. Fair staff will present the fair board with family-friendly options for other FoodMaxx Arena events in the next few months.  Options could include the return of a mud bogs event, air extreme events (motorcycle jumping), as well as an additional night of motocross.

The Stanislaus County Fair is now entering its 96^th year. The 2007 fair opens Friday, July 27 for a 10-day run. The theme of the 2007 fair, “Summer Safari,” is sure to bring out Stanislaus County’s adventurous side. The fair has twice been honored with Modesto Bee Reader’s Choice Awards for “Favorite All-Around Event.”

The mission of the Stanislaus County Fair is to provide a family and community oriented experience promoting agriculture, entertainment and technology. For more information about the Stanislaus County Fair log onto its website at www.stancofair.com.

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