Before the curtain rises and rapper B.o.B takes the stage May 20 at The Convo, a sizable amount of time, money and labor must go toward transforming the circular arena into Athens’ most lucrative concert venue.
It’s been more than seven years since The Convo hosted Jason Mraz and Michelle Branch in October 2003, but holding a concert there has always been a goal of the Ohio University Performing Arts Series, said Andrew Holzaepfel, booking agent for the series and associate director of OU’s Campus Involvement Center.
“We’ve never lost the desire to do something over there,” he said. “It’s just finding the right time to do it.”
This Spring Quarter proved to be the best time to hold the concert because so many student organizations — the University Program Council, Black Student Cultural Programming Board, National Pan-Hellenic Council and Student Activities Commission — expressed an interest in helping and pooling together their budgets, Holzaepfel said.
This particular school year has also been one of the most successful for the Performing Arts Series, the main stakeholder in the B.o.B show, allowing more wiggle room in its $90,000 budget for a larger national act.
Last Wednesday’s Goo Goo Dolls concert sold out the 1,900-seat Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium, and tomorrow’s Darius Rucker show only has 20 tickets left for purchase, which means the Performing Arts Series will make up for and potentially profit from the $800,000 worth of programming that it holds annually.
“Sellouts aren’t a regular occurrence, and that’s part of the reason we took this opportunity to have this spring concert,” Holzaepfel said. “Those two shows made all the money back and made some additional money, and that could go into B.o.B.”
In addition to B.o.B’s $55,000 contract and the $27,500 contract for opening act Far East Movement, about $18,000 has been budgeted for sound, lights and staging, which will be designed by Cleveland-based RCS Corporation.
As for filling the 4,100 available seats at The Convo May 20, Holzaepfel said they are right on track: 700 tickets were sold Friday, the first day they were available, and as of Monday, when online ticket sales began, the show had sold 500 more.
Initially, multiple dates needed to be reserved and confirmed with Ohio Athletics in order to find an available performer. B.o.B, the Grammy-nominated emcee behind hits such as “Nothin’ on You” and “Airplanes,” was repeatedly suggested. The artist received rave reviews from both agents and students as both a high-energy performer and marketable act on college campuses, Holzaepfel said.
Once the date was in place, the athletics department had no qualms about scheduling the show, said Jason Farmer, assistant athletic director and director of facilities for The Convo.
“(The Convo) is technically not available for a lot of outside uses, but we can make ourselves available,” Farmer said. “This was an easy choice for us, especially this time of year, since we are only holding out-of-season practices.”
Setup for the carpeting, barriers and stage is expected to begin the night of Wednesday, May 18. Technical aspects, such as lighting and sound, will be set up the morning of the show. OU’s men’s and women’s basketball teams and the women’s volleyball team might be displaced for an estimated five total practices, though athletes from all three sports can most likely relocate to Ping Recreation Center because it is the off-season, Farmer said.
Holzaepfel said it is becoming increasingly more expensive to hire artists, especially with budget money dwindling, but Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi relayed the importance of ultimately bringing a large show to campus as a “shared experience” for students.
“These events — we only do them when we feel like we’re going to compensate … and sometimes we make money, sometimes we lose money, sometimes we break even,” he said. “But you have to take a little risk to get the reward.”
al106606@ohiou.edu
@ThePostCulture
