Turns out, just as we suspected, the Ultra Music Festival, which was held over two weekends in March, rather than it's usual one weekend, drew record crowds and brought record money to the community. Hotels and restaurants in the downtown area of course benefited the most.
Unlike many suspected, the crowds did spend money and spent it outside of Bayfront Park before, during and after the event. Only two emails of complaint came into the Bayfront Park Trust about the noise and crowds.
While it did shut down most of downtown Miami those two weekends, it was well worth it in this poor economy. Tim Schmand, the Trust CEO said overall there was a $1.1 million increase in assets. He went on to say that Ultra contributed $1.2 million to to the park Trust.
In Coconut Grove, the major benefit of large events is the trickle down to the local businesses. During the King Mango Strut or Bed Race or 4th of July events, the goal is to bring crowds in who in turn spend money locally, whether it be just for the day at stores and restaurants or at hotels for the weekend.
For the condo owners in the downtown area who don't really care for large events in Bayfront Park, it was explained that the events pay for the upkeep of the park. But as I stated, the Ultra Music Festival is going back to just one weekend next year, so those residents can breath a sigh of relief for one less weekend anyway.
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