The Enrique Iglesias concert and holiday parade cost McAllen nearly $771,000, according to records reviewed by the City Commission on Monday.
McAllen lost nearly $583,000 on the concert and nearly $188,000 on the holiday parade, according to an analysis by the city Finance Department. McAllen eked out a small $5,500 profit on Christmas in the Park.
Mayor Jim Darling said McAllen will have a professional event promoter for the next holiday concert, shifting the risk to a third party.
“We won’t go forward as a self-promoter again,” Darling said.
Exactly how much McAllen paid the Latin King of Pop to perform at Veterans Memorial Stadium remains secret.
In January, CBS 4 News filed a public information request for the contract and payment records from Iglesias’ concert. McAllen appealed the request to the Texas Attorney General’s Office, arguing that releasing the records would place the city at a competitive disadvantage when negotiating with other artists — and possibly provide an edge to rival venues in Pharr and Hidalgo.
Along with the financial analysis, the City Commission reviewed an “economic impact” analysis prepared by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.
The events had a $15.8 million economic impact — including $1.8 million in direct city spending, $9.2 million in consumer spending — according to university Associate Director for Economic Development Michael Uhrbrock.
To calculate consumer spending, the university surveyed 716 people and extrapolated the results based on 240,000 attendees, Uhrbock said. McAllen calculated the parade attendance.
Assistant City Manager Joe Vera said McAllen will attempt to boost the number of parade sponsors, which will offset costs.
“We went from $322,000 in sponsorships last year to $645,000 this year for the parade,” Vera said. “We think that we could be hitting $800- to $850,000 in sponsorships next year and that’s what we got to strive for.”
