If, like me, you are not going to Coachella again this year, you may be quite indifferent when hearing the news, but it should rejoice thousands of others. According to the LA Times, on Wednesday, the city of Indio approved Goldenvoice’s proposal to expand its festivals (Coachella and Stagecoach) in Indio through at least 2030. That’s at least 17 years of Coachella right there!
This is also a good deal for the city of Indio, which will get a little more per ticket, from $2.33 to $5.01 in 2014. Let’s see, there was about 80,726 people who attended the first weekend of Coachella last year, 77,661 the second weekend, whereas 55,772 attended Stagecoach; so roughly speaking, that would be about $1,000,000 in 2014 in the pocket of this booming city of 76,000 habitants, and this is without saying that Coachella and Stagecoach are growing each year.
Goldenvoice did its homework and prepared a thousand-page environment impact report and the city of festivals, as it is now called, said yes. Furthermore, the concert promoter has now the permission to organize 5 festivals per year instead of 3, so many more festivals may occur in the fall as Dan Martinez, Indio city manager, seems to insinuate: ‘Our tourist season begins in October and ends in April, so to begin with two festivals and end with three more would book-end nicely. It has huge support on a city level. It really impacts our community greatly. Many people would like to see the number of festivals expand.’
Sure, why not more money? The Los Angeles Times estimates that revenue to Indio could increase to more than $2,700,000 as Coachella is the biggest money-making festival in the world, grossing more than $47 million last year. And you also have to consider the considerable money made by the food and hotel industry: last year more than $17 million and $8 million were respectively spent on hotels and food for the first weekend only!!! Needless to say they had the support of every single hotel chain.
Why wouldn’t any city want more of these festivals? Even with some minor environmental inconvenient (festival-goers urinating in swimming pools), this is pure gold.