Ludacris only fills half of Rose Arena
On The Fly Productions spent around $95,000 to bring rap star Ludacris to Central Michigan University for his Feb. 8 concert at Rose Arena.
The Central Box Office, located on the lower level of the Bovee University Center, reported selling 2,058 tickets to the show, nearing a total of $60,000. This does not include figures from Ticketmaster, which were unavailable as of press time.
Rose Arena can seat as many as 5,200 people – not including the floor.
“It’s all about calculated risk,” said Dani Hiar, OTF adviser. “I thought it was a fantastic show.”
Hiar said OTF receives much of its budget through allocations from Residence Life, and an effort is made with every production to set up a budget to break even.
On the Fly collaborated with Program Board in 2003 to bring folk artists Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds to Rose.
The show drew audience members from around the country and sold out with ease; a lottery was even held to determine which students could purchase tickets.
The cost was $193,000, and tickets sold for around $40 for students but, Hiar said, OTF still lost $1,200.
“It should never be our goal to make money,” she said.
She said because OTF is student run, its interests lie in booking acts that will attract students and offer them a cheap alternative to traveling to Detroit or Grand Rapids for live music.
OTF does not exist to make money, Hiar said.
“It would have been nice to sell 500 or 600 more (tickets),” she said. “But is it worth it? Yeah.”
Willis graduate student Lonnie Scott said students also are in charge of filling artists’ riders.
A rider is a list of food, drinks and other amenities requested by the artist for backstage.
He said Ludacris’ rider included catfish strips, chicken, some mixed salad, soft drinks and a deli tray.
“Both (Ludacris’s) and Bizarre’s riders were pretty simple,” he said. “Surprisingly.”
Scott said University Events officials screen riders for alcohol, drugs and tobacco before submitting them to OTF .
“Bizarre requested a box of cigars, but it was crossed off,” he said.
Hiar said students in OTF and Program Board do not receive the recognition they deserve.
Some students volunteered to stay up all night to accompany those who camped outside the UC to be the first to get tickets for Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds.
“They do it because they love to bring stuff to campus,” she said.
OTF and Program Board are responsible for bringing past acts such as Dave Chapelle, 311, Nickelback, and Lone Star to campus.
Yellowcard is scheduled to perform April 26th.
