USL Pro soccer team Sacramento Republic FC played five games at Bonney Field, on the footprint of California State Fair, during fairtime. (Photo by California State Fair & Exposition)
In spite of heat that reached triple digits on five days, and probably with the help of a new soccer venue, the California State Fair in Sacramento posted the best attendance in six years with 750,445 people passing through the gates, up 7.6 percent over last year’s 697,045.
The addition of Bonney Field, the home of the new Sacramento Republic USL Pro soccer team and five games that took place during the July 11-27 fair helped boost attendance, Pickering said.
The $3-million soccer field and supporting field, with bleacher seating for 8,000; modular lockers, shower facilities and food booths; is a three-way partnership among the fair, the team and Ovations Food Services, said Rick Pickering, general manager at California State Fair.
“We spent much of the last year going through the development process,” he added.
Fans who attended games had to enter the fairgrounds in order to reach the field and could do so with their soccer game ticket, Pickering said.
“One gates is within 200 feet of the soccer field," he said. "If somebody parked there, they would walk by two carnival rides before getting to the soccer field. That would be the shortest route.”
Letting soccer fans in the fair for free was “good for marketing” and more than likely helped increase ridership for the Fairfield, Calif.-based Butler Amusements as well as food and beverage grosses, Pickering said.
“I think anecdotally, yes, given the amount of growth in carnival and food and beverage sales, and more importantly as we walked around and would see people wearing Sacramento Republic T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and jerseys, there was a large number of soccer fans at the fair,” Pickering said. “Did they only come to the fair because they were at the game? Some, probably. On the other hand, did fairgoers come to the fair and probably go to the game? Yes.”
The Butler Amusements ride gross was up 8.4 percent to $4.1 million compared to last year’s $3.7 million, Pickering said. The food and beverage gross was up 12.2 percent to $8.13 million compared to last year’s $7.36 million.
Paid attendance was up in higher percentage than the overall attendance at 10.9 percent, to 557,440 compared to last year’s 502,547, Pickering added, although the 2014 figure was still being reconciled this week.
Bonney, a plumbing and heating and air conditioning outlet in Sacramento, is the venue’s naming rights sponsor, Pickering said, in a deal that was worked out between Ovations and the Sacramento Republic. Already, there is talk of adding more seating to the venue, Pickering said, as every game so far has sold out.
The $3 million cost of the facility was greatly reduced by the fact that it was built on the grounds of the 900-acre Cal Expo, which has existing plumbing, electrical lines, roads and other infrastructure, Pickering said.
“So there are quite a bit of cost savings by using existing land and utilities,” Pickering said. “It might be a model for fairgrounds around the country.”
The fair takes place on 380 acres, and 400 of the acres are the environmentally-protected American River Parkway. The fair has 14,000 parking stalls, which Pickering said is not enough.
“It’s not soccer that drives the largest days,” Pickering said. “We already have days during the annual fair where all parking offsite is taken up in the community on larger days .We had four days over 70,000, which is the first time in perhaps the history of the California State Fair that we had four days over 70,000.”
Children had the opportunity to interact with goats and other animals at the Petting Zoo at California State Fair in Sacramento. (Photo by California State Fair and Exposition)
Ironically, in spite of the fact that the end of the World Cup soccer championship was going on at the same time as the fair and helped to drive the popularity of soccer, it kept some fans home on the day of the final between Germany and Brazil on July 13.
The fair held a viewing party at the soccer venue but still had lower attendance than usual for a Sunday, although the event might have mitigated the attendance drop.
“We were down 14 percent compared to the same Sunday of the prior year,” Pickering said. “But I talked to other fairs and they saw a 25-30 percent drop on that day.”
Pay-one-price wristbands for the carnival cost $30 on weekdays and $35 on weekends, said Jennifer L. Castlebury, marketing director for the California State Fair.
The carnival placed 72 rides on the midway, Pickering said, with the log flume ride being one of the more popular because of the California heat.
Both the kiddie and regular midway area layouts were adjusted, to line the carnival up better with the soccer field and the kiddie area to line up better with the racetrack, Pickering said.
“I believe both those adjustments to pedestrian patterns helped the carnival and helped the fair,” he added.
The Toyota Concert Series at the Golden 1 Stage which accommodates about 4,000 fairgoers, did well, with the top-draws including Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, MercyMe, Bret Michaels, America, The Whispers and tribute band Queen Nation doing well. Other acts included John Kay & Steppenwolf, Macy Gray, Phil Vassar, Hinder, The Spinners, Billyjack Black & Jana Kramer, Trick Pony and Blaze of Glory: The Bon Jovi Experience.
Concerts are free with paid admission to the fair but fans who want better seats can pay $14, $18 or $22, depending on the act, for the VIP reserved gold area at most concerts.
The fair also had some challenges, including a large wild land fire the week before the fair opened that involved 168 acres as well as three smaller fires during the fair that contributed to decreased attendance on at least one day because of the closing of a nearby highway.
That occurred on the first of the fair’s two Kids Days in which children get to ride for a $1, Pickering said, leading to higher attendance on the second Kids Day at 75,957.
“It was nice to do that on a Tuesday,” Pickering said.
Also, the California drought meant that one of the fair’s many man-made lagoons had dried up. The fair moved an FMX motorcycle stunt show into the bowl.
“We layered that into drought education and water education as to why the motorcycle show was in a dry lake,” he said. “It gave us a wonderful bowl for the audience. The stunt show had viewers on a 360-degree level.”
Gate admission cost $10 in advance and $12 at the door for adults, the same as the last few years. The overall fair budget is around $25 million, Pickering added.
The marketing budget was $1.2 million and funds were shifted this year to increase the amount spent in social media and decrease the amount spent in print media, Pickering said.
Marketing promotions encouraged attendees to take their own photos and post them to the fair’s Facebook page or website, Pickering said.
The fair hired a new marketing company that revamped the fair’s website and came up with a new slogan – “It’s the Best” – based around blue ribbons.
“We placed blue ribbons over regional communities and store doors and some businesses place them in restrooms,” Pickering said. “They were static electric cling blue ribbons that said ‘Best-Looking Person.’ Or at the soccer game, they would say, ‘Best Soccer Fan.’”
Television spots used the theme as well, he said.
“There were several segments in the commercial, such as a person is pictured in a vineyard opening a bottle of wine, then a State Fair blue ribbon comes into the picture frame and reads, ‘Best Reason to Breathe,’” Pickering said. “Another one of the commercial segments shows award-winning cheeses being sliced and laid on a granite slab. The blue ribbon comes into the frame and reads, ‘Best Place to Cut Cheese.’”
Next year’s dates will be similar to this year’s and will depend on the horse-racing schedule, Pickering added.
Interviewed for this story: Rick Pickering and Jennifer Castlebury, (916) 263-3247