Wake leaders looking forward to economic boost from return of concerts, festivals
As concerts and other forms of live entertainment make a comeback from the coronavirus pandemic, Wake County leaders are looking forward to cashing in on the economic impact.
The Eagles' concert at PNC Arena on Wednesday night is one of several large-scale events county leaders are looking forward to.
After a pause brought on by the pandemic, people in line outside PNC Arena said they were thrilled to listen to live music again.
"I'm just glad that we're able to get out and enjoy ourselves," said Shannon Fleming, who traveled from Greenville for the concert.
Fleming said this is the first large-scale event she's participated in since the start of the pandemic.
"I'm a small business owner so it's wonderful to see people out and spending their money again," she said.
After tremendous financial losses in 2020, leaders said they want people to enjoy the shows and pump money back into the local economy.
"Ultimately, every dollar in Wake County gets recycled seven different times," said Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson. "So that's a huge impact for restaurant owners and hotel owners and people who work in the hotel industry to be able to support their livelihood."
All of this is critically important for a prosperous community — of which we are," he added.
Organizers with Dreamville Festival, the popular event from rapper J Cole, announced this year's lineup for the two-day event at Dix Park on Tuesday. The inaugural event in 2019 brought in nearly $4 million.
"We see the music industry in Wake County as huge, just because we are a creative class community. The music community truly embraces what we have — which is a love for them," said Hutchinson.
In 202. the World of Bluegrass Festival brought in $5.7 million to the local economy.
"We're seeing this real surge coming out of the pandemic for exactly this type of entertainment that we're experiencing. Wake County is becoming a destination for music, a destination for entertainment and people are beginning to see that," said Hutchinson.
New this year, lawn passes for access to multiple concerts at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek this summer.
"We're going to see Kid Rock in June at [Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek.] We're looking forward to that," said Flemming.
Wake leaders said they're looking ahead to when the Carolina Hurricanes play outside at North Carolina State University's Carter Finley Stadium as a part of the NHL's Outdoor Stadium Series in 2023. The game has been set for 2023.
