Dennis RomeroA study commissioned by a controversial rave promoter claims that its troubled Electric Daisy Carnival last summer “boosted economic output in Los Angeles by almost $42 million” and had a bigger economic impact on L.A. than the NBA All Star game.
The study, conducted by Beacon Economics and released last week, sounds almost like a prelude to another lobbying effort to place the event at the taxpayer-controlled L.A. Coliseum once again.
The promoter, Insomniac Events, recently announced it's moving this year's party to Las Vegas June 24 and 25 following revelations that the Coliseum events manager doubled dipped as a hand for the promoter, which could illegal.
After the dual role of Todd DeStefano was revealed last month, at a time when Insomniac was in the midst of a full-bore effort to get the Coliseum Commission to approve its June event, the venue's general manager resigned and commission president David Israel said EDC, as it's known, was a no go for summer.
EDC.; Credit: Caesar Sebastian
EDC saw more than 200 medical emergencies, 60 mostly drug-related arrests, and the subsequent death of a 15-year-old girl who had taken ecstasy. Video also depicted a crush of chaos that appeared to end in injuries for some.
The event drew about 160,000 people over two days at the Coliseum.
Afterward some leaders, including Antonio Villaraigosa, questioned why such raves were being held at public venues like the Coliseum and Sports Arena four times a year.
EDC was put on thin ice, at least on paper.
The study sounds like a primer for why Insomniac should be allowed to continue promoting events at the Coliseum and its sister venue, the Sports Arena.
Among the report's claims, according to an Insomniac statement:
Electric Daisy.; Credit: Caesar Sebastian.
-EDC 2010 generated a demand for the equivalent of 354 full-time jobs, bringing in $14.6 million in income for workers in the region.
-EDC generated $3.1 million in tax revenues: local governments earned over $1.2 million in revenues, and $1.9 million went into the state budget.
-The report also found that Insomniac contributed a significant amount of expenditures to the local economy. Attendees generated significant demand for hotel rooms, occupying 15,665 hotel rooms on the first night of EDC, and 18,429 on the second night.
Beacon said it surveyed 5,000 attendees to come up with the figures.
The company's “founding principal,” Christopher Thornberg, calculated that the numbers added up to a “larger economic impact” than the X Games, the NBA All-Star Weekend and the E3 Expo.
Insomniac honcho Pasqual Rotella said he expects to put even bigger numbers on the board in Vegas this June.
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