SnowGlobe promoter wants contract, more from city
By Kathryn Reed
SnowGlobe promoters want a multi-year contract and for the city to pony up more money.
The South Lake Tahoe City Council on March 4 will talk about whether the reported $6 million the three-day music festival brings into the region is worth the trade-offs.
2013 was the third year the event has been staged at the Lake Tahoe Community College ball fields on Dec. 29-31.
“Once the field is replaced, we don’t recommend coming back to that field,” City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News.
The field is likely to be replaced in three years at a cost of about $500,000. The city has been setting aside money to replace it and has about 75 percent of what it needs in the bank. A large portion of the money comes from Measure S/R dollars, the recreation measure.
Snow actually causes more damage to the artificial turf field than an event like SnowGlobe. And last year was the first time the field was partially covered to prevent wear and tear.
Chad Donnelly, SnowGlobe promoter, wants the city to pay $25,000 in promotional expenses, pickup some transportation costs, and pay for garbage removal.
Donnelly did not return a phone call. It is not known how much he makes off the concert. The cheapest three-day tickets for 2013 were $149. It’s estimated 10,000 to 12,000 people attend the concert. Most do so all three days.
Donnelly has told the city 94 percent of the concertgoers are from outside the area. He bases this on ZIP codes from credit cards used to purchase tickets. From there he extrapolated that $2 million is being spent by attendees on lodging and $4 million on other things.
Kerry said she agrees with those figures.
“They definitely drive money into the local economy,” Kerry said.
But she added that the business community might want offer to help since they have benefited tremendously two of the three years because there was so little snow to draw people to town.
Lake Tahoe Community College will also have to weigh in on any contract because they own half the field. In addition, the physical education building is used, as is the parking lot.
Even if an agreement can be reached for this year and the next couple years, a long-term solution needs to be found if SnowGlobe is going to stay on the South Shore.
Lake Tahoe Airport is out of the question based on FAA regulations. Stateline casinos have said they need the parking that time of year so the answer is “no”. Heavenly is a definite “no”. The parking lot at any Lake Tahoe Unified School District property is a “no” because alcohol sales would not be allowed.
Camp Richardson and Bijou Community Park have not been ruled out.
The other alternative is after five or six years of Donnelly branding SnowGlobe enough people might attend no matter the date, meaning that another time of year could be found to bring the event to South Lake Tahoe.
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Note: The South Lake Tahoe City Council meeting on March 4 starts at 9am at Lake Tahoe airport.
Camp Rich is outside the city limits and Bijou park is a worse spot than the playfields because it has even less amenities to handle the crowds.
How about the promoter make it pencil himself and stop looking for handouts. I can’t get the govt to subsidize my business
So what if camp rich is outside CITY limits. They have the facilities and there would be much less sound disturbance.
This event is not for Tahoe. He should look for another City
Local — You have to get approval from the Feds for Camp Rich. The City of SLT has no jurisdiction at Camp Rich.
/not meant as snarky, just pointing out a fact.
“They definitely drive money into the local economy,” Kerry said. “But she added that the business community might want offer to help since they have benefited tremendously two of the three years because there was so little snow to draw people to town.”
Local businesses benefit from this music festival as does the City with increased TOT and sales tax revenues. I think it’s completely reasonable for the local businesses to help out, and for them to expect the taxpayers to pick up the entire “help out” tab is what’s unreasonable. What about all that talk of “partnering” to make things better for everyone?
how about they just move it to the black rock desert. oh wait, there is already a lame hippie gathering there.
This comment is about how laughable it it that the field needs to be replaced already. What a waste of resources. Put in real turfgrass, it will cost less in the long run, and use less resources. A field that size would not cost per year what the artificial one does to replace every (x) amount of years. Where does the old field go when its replaced? Yes, a landfill.
Chad Donnelly, SnowGlobe promoter, wants the city to pay $25,000 in promotional expenses, pickup some transportation costs, and pay for garbage removal.
This is a small amount of money to be negotiating. I can’t believe their profit margin is so thin that they would even look at these items.
tahoe resident, I’m with you on the use of real grass. I read a story years ago about how some fake grass emits chemicals that can be detrimental to your health after prolonged exposure.
The synthetic grass at the college wore out pretty quickly. Now their saying in three years a replacement will cost $500,000.
Yes, real grass does need maintenence, planting, watering, cutting, aereating. But when you think about it, what would you rather play on. Be it Soccer, Baseball, tossing a Frisbee or just laying down on fresh mowed grass talking with friends. I’ll take the real grass everytime.
I’d like to see an honest cost comparison including longevity and the users enjoyment from one compared to the other.
As far as SnowGlobe, if the city can come to terms with the promoter I say go for it. The first one was so loud it was ratteling the windows in my house and I got very little sleep. Last years was a huge improvement with much less volume.
If only Heavenly would allow it at there place it would be great for all concerned. OLS
Old Hal and the Team is going to do whatever it takes to keep SnoGlobe.
those folks are good at doing what there told to do.
the rest of us just have to put up with the Krap.
The Promoter is really asking for more than $25k it is closer to 75k, if you read the material supplied for the council meeting. As far as the business community kicking in I believe the lodging community did kick in about 50K last year to bring it through the Tourism Improvement District. I would hope the rest of the business community would kick something in if they wish to keep it coming.
How much is the Nevada side, major beneficiary of this type of event, contributing? Or being asked to contribute?
Does anybody know if there are any Federal or State regulations regarding environmental issues associated with real grass, such as the water needed for irrigating or the chemicals for treating weeds/fertilizing? Federal/state grants won’t be forthcoming to a local government unless everything is done according to their rules/specs and I’m certain they apply the same to turf replacement materials.
It’s time to let snow globe go. They have destroyed the field. They have not taken care of the noise leaving the area. They are still trying to nickle and dime us, so see ya! If the college lets them stay I hope the college does not try to ask the voters for a tax increase.
Sierra House School put in real grass on their field last year.
http://turf.uark.edu/turfhelp/archives/021109.html
OLS, here is a good read on artificial vs real
I like what it does for the community, but I wish Snowglobe would be replaced with a festival that has some better music. If I’m paying 150+ for a ticket, I want to watch true musicians rock my world, not a dude standing behind a laptop for the most part. That’s a whole different topic of conversation.
Jay – I wouldn’t call this a hippie festival at all. I’d actually prefer a hippie scene to the 18-21 year olds eating a bunch of Molly waiting for the Bass to drop.
tahoe resident, Thank you for the informative link about artificial versus real grass. Anyone who reads that will agree, real grass is the way to go for all the obvious reasons listed in the article.
As far as SnowGlobe and the type of music, I’m with RSG. Maybe, if the promoter is making the big bucks, he could put on a second concert aimed at a different audience. Rock and Roll, Accoustic, Bluegrass…any thing, other than the thump, thump bass.
As for my mention of Tarantino’s in the “Then and Now” segment, yes Gary, I went to school with one of the family kids as well, Peter Tarantino.
Last and certainly not least… “Still here” who worked the go cart track for free track time.?That could only be one person. His initials are JT. Say Hi to your brother John, Linda and “the Warden” and Jim.
That’s all for now, OLS
“Chad Donnelly, SnowGlobe promoter, wants the city to pay $25,000 in promotional expenses, pickup some transportation costs, and pay for garbage removal.”
Small price for the municipality to pay for what it gets out of this event. Certainly reasonable by all standards.
Does anyone know, is Chad Donnelly related to Tim Donnelly who, if the spelling is correct, has some political, and, perhaps even legal background in South Lake Tahoe?
I’m curious. Records show that a Mr. Chad Ryan Donnelly has a
Criminal/Traffic case, number S12CRM0112-1. Dated 2/7/2012
The artificial turf idea was an attempt to save water and maintenance costs. Of course, not everything that a manufacturer presents is true and, absent information to the contrary, it showed promise. At time, I was concerned about the wear from the harsh weather that Lake Tahoe provides. In any case, it was never designed or intended to have crowds on it. 20 people at a time for small intervals, like soccer or baseball, is entirely different than a concert. Unfortunately, this was not taken into account when this event was “planned”. Increased costs to replace the turn should be borne by the promoter, IMHO.
SnowGlobe does not fit it with the rustic vibe of CampRich. Hope the City declines the ‘wants list’ of the promoter to be paid out.