Jul 13, 2010
The Economic Impact of Culture in the Center City
Author: Michael J. Smith, President and CEO, Charlotte Center City Partners
We all know that cultural arts feed our souls and improve quality of life. In Center City Charlotte, cultural arts also feed our economic engine. Our community has made wise investments in our spectacular cultural arts assets and performance venues. These public spaces are capturing national attention, driving business to surrounding restaurants, hotels and retail and are creating new dimension for our destination marketing and convention business. As we begin the work of activating these cultural investments, we need to look at the positive impact cultural arts have on our economy.
The Broadway League (formerly the League of American Theaters and Producers) created a calculation to measure the economic impact of theater shows on their communities. They have determined that every $1.00 of ticket value translates to $2.50 dollars of direct economic impact on a city. So, a theater ticket of $50 equals an economic impact of $125 in hotels, restaurants, gasoline, parking and other spending that can be attributed to a theatre production.
The recent Broadway series tour of "Jersey Boys" brought in $3.7 million in sales over the run of the show. Using the economic impact multiplier, that show brought in $8 million. "Wicked" will bring in $5.8 million for an economic impact of $11.6 million.
Charlotte is in the top 10 markets in the country for first class national Broadway tours. Tom Gabbard, CEO of Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, tells us that producers who plan first-year tours count Charlotte in the same rarefied list of cities as Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas. Shows succeed here. Fans in Charlotte are supportive; the Blumenthal has a great team; we have beautiful facilities and ticket sales are good.
55% of ticket sales for the Broadway shows come from Mecklenburg County and the majority of the rest of the attendees are within an hour of Charlotte. Another interesting fact about Charlotte’s Broadway series audiences is they are on average 10 years younger than audiences in other cities, which the Blumenthal PAC considers as they select shows.
Our wide variety of venues in Uptown is a great advantage for Charlotte. We can support everything from traveling Broadway shows, regional theater and small local offerings. The venues range from 150 seats to the 2,100 seat Performing Arts Center with the variety of new and modern to the beloved Spirit Square, with its own quirky character. Tom says, "We can support an incredible menu and a range of artistic tastes. This allows us to do ‘niche marketing’. We have a wonderful family of assets that are distinctly different."
Tryon Street has been referred to as the "Cultural Mile". The McColl Center and NC Dance Theatre anchor the North end and the Levine Center for the Arts anchors the South. This cultural mile provides both the concentration of venues, while offering breathing room for programming across the whole central business district.
Cultural arts in Charlotte are more than song and dance…it is one of our economic drivers as we emerge from this downturn. It is driving tourism, convention business and serves as a strong segment of economic development that we are just beginning to appreciate and activate. Many thanks to Tom Gabbard and his talented team for their part in putting Charlotte on the national cultural arts map.
Categories: Business, Arts & Entertainment, Charlotte Center City Partners
