Milwaukee's Summerfest reveals fest's economic impact down slightly over the past decade

Summerfest officials revealed the results of its first economic impact study in a decade at a Board of Directors meeting for nonprofit parent company Milwaukee World Festival Inc. Thursday.

In Milwaukee and across Wisconsin, the impact overall actually dipped from the 2013 study.

Sarah Pancheri, leading the first board meeting as Milwaukee World Festival CEO following Don Smiley's retirement, emphasized that the festival now operates two fewer days a year.

In 2023, Summerfest generated $160.3 million for the city and supported 3,400 part- and full-time jobs, according to a study conducted by Tourism Economics. The economic impact in Wisconsin was $188.7 million, with $14.4 million in state and local taxes. Total direct spending at the festival amounted to $110.2 million, according to the study.

The 2013 study, also by Tourism Economics, found that Summerfest's economic impact in Milwaukee was $187 million, with an additional $39 million filtering through the state.

In addition to fewer days, Summerfest 2023 saw lower attendance. The festival reported that 624,407 attended last year; in 2013, when it ran for 11 days instead of nine, there were 840,356 visitors.

While the overall impact dipped, Summerfest officials pointed out Thursday that the economic impact per day in Milwaukee actually ticked up between 2013 and 2023. In 2023, when the festival ran for nine days, the per-day economic impact in Milwaukee was on average $17.8 million. In 2013, when the festival ran for 11 days, it was $16.4 million.

The 2023 study also documented the economic impact for the full event season at Summerfest's home base, Maier Festival Park. The park hosted 64 events, an 83% increase from 2019, with 1.2 million people walking through the turnstiles.

Along with decades-long-running ethnic festivals, the 2023 events included 19 concerts at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater. That number was flat from the previous year, when Maier Park's primary venue had its most concerts since 2004, following a $51.3 million renovation that concluded in 2021.

The economic impact from Maier Festival Park events was $263.2 million in Milwaukee supporting 4,300 part- and full-time jobs, according to the 2023 Tourism Economics report. The economic impact across Wisconsin was $318 million, with $22.6 million generated in state and local taxes, according to the study. The study also found that $182.4 million could be attributed to direct spending for events at Maier Festival Park.

Pancheri also said the concert numbers for 2024 at Maier Festival Park will be on par with 2023 levels. Thirteen concerts have been announced so far at the amphitheater, and 12 for the 5,000-seat BMO Pavilion, including 13 Summerfest shows.

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Also at the board meeting officials Thursday announced a sponsorship extension with Pepsi that will last through 2030, and elected two new board members: JoAnne Anton, president and CEO of Herb Kohl Philanthropies, and Gabrielle Finley-Hazle, president of Aurora Health Care.

Pancheri also announced that the Northwestern Mutual Community Park will have its earliest annual opening ever Friday due to favorable weather, and will operate each day from 10 a.m. to dusk, except for event days and event loading days. More information will be available at milwaukeeworldfestival.com.

Summerfest 2024 will run June 20 to 22, June 27 to 29 and July 4 to 6. Maier Park will host seven additional festivals from May through August.

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Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or [email protected]. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's Summerfest reveals fest's economic impact down since 2013