By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With the announcement that Keith Urban's tour stop in Wichita coincides with the second Saturday night of the Kansas State Fair, that creates some issues for scheduling a grandstand show that night.
"We just got back from the International Association of Fairs and Expositions convention," said State Fair GM Bryan Schulz. "There was four staff, myself and three of our board members went down there. We had an opportunity to meet with our entertainment buyers and started looking at things. Obviously, we were already in the row of finding some things. With this announcement, we have been able to shift from what we thought we might do on that Saturday night to different entertainment. We'll just make it work."
The State Fair's grandstand show budget isn't that large, when you're spreading it over the whole event.
"We have about $650,000 to $675,000, when you start taking that over ten days, that kind of dwindles down." Schulz said. "The Blake Sheltons, the Miranda Lamberts, KISS, ZZ Top, those might be a little tough to get in at the Kansas State Fair right now."
The key is figuring out who will be big and booking them early, which is an art in itself.
"Going after those ones that are starting to peak and getting them in at the dollar amounts that we can afford," Schulz said. "I remember, when I was at a previous fair, our agency said, hey Bryan, we've got this opportunity for Zac Brown Band. I said, okay. That's when Chicken Fried was just coming out. I said, okay, what do you think we can get them for? Well, about $27,000 is what I think we'll pay for them. Let's try it. By the time it got to be fair time, they were asking $200,000 to $250,000. It's when you can get in on that ground level and be able to lock it in, that's fantastic."
Schulz further explained that if an act will have a show in the region before the one at the Fair, sometimes announcements of acts have to be delayed, in an effort not to negatively impact the other close in show's date.