Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Aug 25, 2021 8:09:51 GMT -5
Attendance at the 2021 NYS Fair so far is half that of past years. A cause for concern?
Updated: Aug. 23, 2021, 3:52 p.m. | Published: Aug. 23, 2021, 1:54 p.m.
New York State Fair Director Troy Waffner has seen the numbers, but he’s not pushing the panic button. At least not yet.
Attendance at the 2021 State Fair has hovered just below or just above 40,000 on each of the first three days (Friday to Sunday). That’s less than half the average attendance of about 83,000 per day for the first three days of the pre-Covid 2019 fair. (There was no fair in 2020).
It’s been evident almost everywhere you look. No lines at the $1 Baked Potato Stand in the Horticulture Building, typically the longest of the fair. Lots of room at the entry points to Midway rides. No crowds of children gawking at sheep, pigs and cows.
But this year’s fair, as Waffner notes, is different. There’s the lingering issue of Covid and the uncertainty for much of the year about whether there would be a fair or how it would operate.
And this year’s fair expands to 18 days for the first time, up from the 13-day runs in recent years.
The first five days of this year’s fair are coming earlier than in previous fairs, Waffner said. The fair’s official daily head count isn’t making a direct comparison to previous fairs so far and won’t until Wednesday, which would have been Opening Day in other years.
“We really have nothing to compare (the early numbers) against,” Waffner said. “These first five days are really new territory for us.”
Waffner said he’s heard from fairgoers that the timing has been some concern. People had vacations planned for this week, or just hadn’t thought about hitting the fair this early, he said.
“I think for a lot of people it’s sort of a habit to come at a certain time,” he said. “So these days are off the routine.”
That even goes for some vendors. The first few days of this year’s fair overlapped for the first time with the end of the Erie County Fair, which is the biggest county fair in the state. Some of the vendors who were at the Erie fair didn’t arrive in Syracuse until Sunday.
Waffner also said he understands that some people are skipping the fair due to concerns over Covid, especially the recent rise in the delta variant.
“Look, we are excited to be open and wish everyone could come and enjoy themselves,” he said. “But people have to make their own choices, and if they’re not comfortable coming to the fair, we just have to deal with it.”
Plus, he noted, “the weather so far has been stifling with humidity.”
Not everyone is complaining. Many fairgoers so far this year have said they like the fact that there are almost no lines and few areas of heavy congestion.
“It’s like we have the whole fair to ourselves,” said Mike Campbell, who brought his family to the fair Saturday from their home near Binghamton. “This is actually pretty nice.”
The vendors might have a different take. Several food stands on the fair’s West End have been especially hard hit, partly because many attractions in that area, such as the Youth Building, Future Farmers of America tent and the farm animal exhibits have either closed entirely or downsized considerably.
“It’s pretty lonely out here,” Monica Bova, owner of the Alivero’s food and drink stand on the far West End, told syracuse.com Saturday. “No activity over here at all.”
Waffner said he could not immediately come up with a “break even” attendance number for this year’s fair that would keep it from losing money. That’s partly because attendance isn’t the only indicator, he said. There’s also spending on food, drinks, rides etc., plus vendor rents and other factors.
Officials from the two big national fair and event industry trade groups agree.
“Everybody wants great attendance, of course,” said Steve Schmader, president of the Boise, Idaho-based International Festivals & Events Association, of which the New York State Fair is a member. “But the bottom line is if less people buy more food — great.”
Marla Calico, CEO of the Springfield, Mo.-based International Association of Fairs & Expositions calls that the “spend.” She told syracuse.com last month that the “spend” is increasingly a more important measurement for events than just attendance.
But the break-even for that is also difficult to calculate at this point, Waffner said.
The State Fair, which is a department within state government, has been making enough money in recent years to be “self-sustaining,” said fair spokesman Dave Bullard. That means it has been covering all its expenses except capital improvements, often with money left over to invest in operations.
www.syracuse.com/statefair/2021/08/attendance-at-the-2021-nys-fair-so-far-is-half-that-of-past-years-a-cause-for-concern.html
Well at least there is less manure on the ground!
Updated: Aug. 23, 2021, 3:52 p.m. | Published: Aug. 23, 2021, 1:54 p.m.
New York State Fair Director Troy Waffner has seen the numbers, but he’s not pushing the panic button. At least not yet.
Attendance at the 2021 State Fair has hovered just below or just above 40,000 on each of the first three days (Friday to Sunday). That’s less than half the average attendance of about 83,000 per day for the first three days of the pre-Covid 2019 fair. (There was no fair in 2020).
It’s been evident almost everywhere you look. No lines at the $1 Baked Potato Stand in the Horticulture Building, typically the longest of the fair. Lots of room at the entry points to Midway rides. No crowds of children gawking at sheep, pigs and cows.
But this year’s fair, as Waffner notes, is different. There’s the lingering issue of Covid and the uncertainty for much of the year about whether there would be a fair or how it would operate.
And this year’s fair expands to 18 days for the first time, up from the 13-day runs in recent years.
The first five days of this year’s fair are coming earlier than in previous fairs, Waffner said. The fair’s official daily head count isn’t making a direct comparison to previous fairs so far and won’t until Wednesday, which would have been Opening Day in other years.
“We really have nothing to compare (the early numbers) against,” Waffner said. “These first five days are really new territory for us.”
Waffner said he’s heard from fairgoers that the timing has been some concern. People had vacations planned for this week, or just hadn’t thought about hitting the fair this early, he said.
“I think for a lot of people it’s sort of a habit to come at a certain time,” he said. “So these days are off the routine.”
That even goes for some vendors. The first few days of this year’s fair overlapped for the first time with the end of the Erie County Fair, which is the biggest county fair in the state. Some of the vendors who were at the Erie fair didn’t arrive in Syracuse until Sunday.
Waffner also said he understands that some people are skipping the fair due to concerns over Covid, especially the recent rise in the delta variant.
“Look, we are excited to be open and wish everyone could come and enjoy themselves,” he said. “But people have to make their own choices, and if they’re not comfortable coming to the fair, we just have to deal with it.”
Plus, he noted, “the weather so far has been stifling with humidity.”
Not everyone is complaining. Many fairgoers so far this year have said they like the fact that there are almost no lines and few areas of heavy congestion.
“It’s like we have the whole fair to ourselves,” said Mike Campbell, who brought his family to the fair Saturday from their home near Binghamton. “This is actually pretty nice.”
The vendors might have a different take. Several food stands on the fair’s West End have been especially hard hit, partly because many attractions in that area, such as the Youth Building, Future Farmers of America tent and the farm animal exhibits have either closed entirely or downsized considerably.
“It’s pretty lonely out here,” Monica Bova, owner of the Alivero’s food and drink stand on the far West End, told syracuse.com Saturday. “No activity over here at all.”
Waffner said he could not immediately come up with a “break even” attendance number for this year’s fair that would keep it from losing money. That’s partly because attendance isn’t the only indicator, he said. There’s also spending on food, drinks, rides etc., plus vendor rents and other factors.
Officials from the two big national fair and event industry trade groups agree.
“Everybody wants great attendance, of course,” said Steve Schmader, president of the Boise, Idaho-based International Festivals & Events Association, of which the New York State Fair is a member. “But the bottom line is if less people buy more food — great.”
Marla Calico, CEO of the Springfield, Mo.-based International Association of Fairs & Expositions calls that the “spend.” She told syracuse.com last month that the “spend” is increasingly a more important measurement for events than just attendance.
But the break-even for that is also difficult to calculate at this point, Waffner said.
The State Fair, which is a department within state government, has been making enough money in recent years to be “self-sustaining,” said fair spokesman Dave Bullard. That means it has been covering all its expenses except capital improvements, often with money left over to invest in operations.
www.syracuse.com/statefair/2021/08/attendance-at-the-2021-nys-fair-so-far-is-half-that-of-past-years-a-cause-for-concern.html
Well at least there is less manure on the ground!
