Concerts Sweet Music For Arena

GRAND RAPIDS — Three June concerts at the Van Andel Arena will close the books on the building’s sixth year in the music business. Event income from these shows is expected to reach at least $1.39 million after Fleetwood Mac, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Journey, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir close out the fiscal year next month.

For the next fiscal year, which starts on July 1, concert revenue at the arena has been projected to rise by $179,000 to $1.57 million. If everything goes right, two dozen concerts will be held at the arena and 192,000 customers will buy tickets. The music shows will mean $744,000 in rental income for the arena and $95,000 in service income.

Concessions income should reach $500,000 in the next fiscal year, revenue from the sale of T-shirts and other novelties should get to $200,000, and the building should get another $25,000 in catering income next year.

Revenue from concerts easily tops that of other events at the arena. In fact, concert income is projected to be 55 percent of all event income for the arena next year, while concerts should only represent 18 percent of all the events forecast there for next year.

The following chart lists the type and number of events expected to be hosted by the arena next year, along with the projected attendance and income for each event type.

Event Type	Number of Events	Event Attendance	Event Income
Concerts	24	192,000	$1,569,498
Sports	58	351,400	$581,729
Family Shows	42	175,400	$526,148
Miscellaneous		33,400	$149,209
Total	133	752,240	$2,826,584

Source: SMG: Van Andel Arena operating budget, fiscal year ending June 30, 2004.