The Thursday New York State Fair attendance of 66,447 seems to bear out State Fair Hound’s prediction that a well-attended concert at the new amphitheater would do little to benefit business down the hill at the Fair. Like most fans, the Hound chose between these two events (guess which one) rather than negotiate the shuttle system or hike the Orange Lot Trail, overlooking this lovely landscape, to do both.
Syracuse.com entertainment reporter Chris Baker confused us a bit in writing that while Miranda Lambert’s maiden show “didn’t fill the 17,500-person venue, it came pretty close,” then saying in the next sentence that there was “lots of room to spare on the lawn.”
While the Hound doesn’t know exactly what that means, absent actual attendance figures, let’s say there were 12,000 to 15,000 at the new joint. In years past, a concert that drew that many to the Grandstand would boost gate counts and produce some impressive numbers, but 66,447 isn’t all that impressive. Also, don’t forget that Jason Derulo had a massive crowd estimated at 24,800 at Chevy Court and, at the same time, Patti LaBelle, playing the final Grandstand show, had about 7000 seats filled, according to Acting Director Troy Waffner.
No doubt, the hot, humid weather convinced some potential fairgoers to postpone their visit, but the dueling-venues conflict played a big part in the modest turnstile totals. Unless the Fair can figure out a way to get concert fans down to the grounds, we’ll see this become a pattern. Of course, this is an issue created by Cuomo and his BFF, Joanie Mahoney.
So what do you say, Gov? Ready to pony up for a monorail? One thing we know he won’t do is admit that the off-site stage wasn’t such a great idea for our New York State Fair because he sure didn’t listen to those who tried to make that point prior to construction.
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