S. Tahoe agrees to 3-year deal for SnowGlobe
By Kathryn Reed
The number of people who spoke Tuesday before the South Lake Tahoe City Council voted to enter a three-year agreement with the promoter could indicate the apparent acceptance of SnowGlobe.
No one from the public spoke at the March 4 meeting. A once contentious event now doesn’t seem to matter to people.
SnowGlobe will be returning to South Lake Tahoe for the next three years. Photo/Lesia Witkowsky
The city agreed to Chad Donnelly’s request to contribute more money. In cash will be a $25,000 sponsorship. Still to be worked out is what that cash will buy. For instance, the $50,000 Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority contributed for the 2013 music festival went toward marketing.
Another $25,000 will be contributed by the city in in-kind costs, covering South Tahoe Refuse’s bill and Tahoe Transportation District’s costs. However, the council expressed interest in working with entities so the city doesn’t have to absorb the entire expense.
SnowGlobe actually saves the fire and police departments in terms of overtime. In past years a substantial amount of resources has been allocated to the revelry at Stateline. The advent of SnowGlobe has almost rendered that spontaneous gathering irrelevant. The city anticipates a cost savings of $5,000 by not paying overtime for employees.
That means the actual cost to the city to bring SnowGlobe to town for the last three days of December is closer to $45,000.
The vote was 4-1, with Mayor Hal Cole in the minority. He was against the $25,000 in cash.
However, cities paying promoters to bring in an event is the norm these days. And it was said Tuesday that what South Lake Tahoe is paying is rather cheap.
Donnelly, who attended the meeting, said he has had offers to go elsewhere with SnowGlobe, but wants to make it work in South Lake Tahoe.
The plan is to use the field at Lake Tahoe Community College for the next three years. The college board still needs to approve this.
It’s likely after the contract is up the field will need to be replaced at a cost of $500,000. At that time a new location for SnowGlobe will probably have to be secured.
The city’s belief is the $6 million the event brings into the community is a significant return on investment.
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In other action:
• The plaza area being built as part of the Harrison Avenue project is going to be called Champions Plaza in honor of area Olympians. Details are being worked out.
Ok snow globe is cool. But how about a tent for us old guys. Snoop dog sounded pretty good though from my back yard….
So, another 3 years of SnowGlobe. I’ll stick with my earlier suggestions. A second concert in a short while after SnowGlobe utiliziing the same location and stage, tents, warming huts but with the second concert featuring music for a more mature audience. Let the local taxpayers have some fun too!!! If the city can’t put this on then hire a LOCAL promoter. Lets keep more of the proceeds here in SLT. With the synthetic turf rapidly deteriorating, please consider replacing the field with real grass, it’s cheeper provides a much more pleasing expierience and it’s safer for people on the field. Maybe a day time event?
Just a few ideas, OLS
Old Chad gets $25,000.00 to buy Coke and Whores
another smoking deal!
does that money come out of the City’s surplus funds?
I would guess that no one spoke for the public because of 2 reasons….
1) The “public” had to be at work
2) the “public” knows that the city council doesn’t care what we think.
Didn’t the producer bluff (aka: lie) that North Shore was vying for the festival there last year?
Are we so pathetic & desperate that we have to pay someone to come here to make themselves tons of money? This area is a treasure and coup for that producer ~ sure, our economy can use the boost, but our City Council should come from power, not roll over as his pawn (yay Hal Cole).
We would have been there but for work obligations.
Tired Hotels + Old Casinos + Aging Customers = “Try something new…and stop whining about the money you just made”.
Anyone else think it’s ironic that kids the DCSO once pushed around in riot gear and turned fire hoses on we now bribe to come to town?
Diana-
At this point, you and everyone else should be pleased as punch that the event is being held in Tahoe. Yes, you have to contribute towards it financially, minimally. That’s the nature of the beast these days; if Tahoe didn’t do it, they would shop around and go elsewhere.
Don’t like it? Well, years of regulatory burden, high taxation, and bloated government have made this area so pathetic that it HAS become desperate for new business. This didn’t happen overnight, and it won’t go away with an election. Government has killed the golden goose.
Ok. Stop with the Snowglobe bashing already. Does everyone remember the “good ‘ol days” of the Stateline Riots!? That’s what we were known for on New Years Eve… Yeah, just go up to Tahoe for the RIOT on South Shore.
At least Snowglobe is an attempt to turn a negative into a positive. Of course the Producers can ask for a fee to put on the show. If someone wants to put on the show better and cheaper then throw your hat in the ring.
Slowroller, if even half of the people who attended the event stayed in lodging in city limits it generates 80k in extra tot taxes, it makes economic sense to spend 45k to make 80k, that is in tot tax alone, I am not sure how much extra the city makes off of the sales tax increase. I think the city keeps 1% of the sales tax(though I am not positive on that number) so that is another 18k. So the question is would you spend $45k to net an additional $53k? I would hope you would
Snowglobe brings a lot of extra revenue to this area during one of our busiest times of year.
Why not have similar events during the ‘shoulder seasons’?
Oh yeah, because SLT does not have an actual venue…
But wait! We do still have the perfect location for a large-scale venue. I heard they are building retail on it though…
The HOLE = “the perfect location” for an OUTDOOR EVENT CENTER
…and retail can still go in at street level as part of a larger complex anchored by an OUTDOOR EVENT CENTER!
We could actially host mainstream artists, X Games, monster trucks, Winter Olympics… bigger and better events year-round!
Ryan, your idea may be a good one, but it would go no where if you cant find an investor who would buy the project from owens and put a event venue in. The city cant buy it as they have other problems, what with huge pension problems coming down the line and roads that are crumbling.