http://www.kentucky.com/2010/10/20/1486846/games-officials-will-not-release.html
They’re not a state agency, so they don’t have to. But it would be nice if they would since, as it is mentioned in the article, some people are apparently trying to get the WEG back here in 2018.
Things that make you go, Hmm…
honestly, 411K is not too bad if Aachen hit 500K in a better economy with a larger regional fan base (“Europe”)…
It would be nice to get the games back here again, but I’m not holding my breath. It seems just like the Olympics - every city has unrealistic expectations for whatever reasons, and gets a bit of a bad taste after it’s over but the bills still need to be paid. 
yes indeed
There were plenty of problems at the Games. I doubt there is any chance of it returning in 2018 after the rip off prices etc. That is not to say i didnt enjoy myself but there were just too many issues for a world championship.
[QUOTE=lucretia;5177436]
There were plenty of problems at the Games. I doubt there is any chance of it returning in 2018 after the rip off prices etc. That is not to say i didnt enjoy myself but there were just too many issues for a world championship.[/QUOTE]
The FEI should take advantage of existing venues. Seems to me a return of the WEG to Kentucky could be done more economically seeing as the infrastructure is now built, prices could be lower, and lessons have been learned.
Speaking as a designer who has to invent new, never before done projects all the time, it is freakin’ hard to get every single unknown issue totally right the first time.
Well, you see, that press release captures the crux of the problem. The ‘powers that be’ for these games have, from a long while back, come across as very arrogant and ‘no soup for you’ types.
One sees the tone in the original ticket pricing, the lodging setups, the local press coverage during the games regarding vendor complaints and the RV park issues (too bad, you paid your money and took your chances).
The KHP and Lexington area make for a fabulous venue, you won’t need to sell the FEI on that point. Alltech a very very generous sponsor, and the others as well. Ditch the organizers for this one, get people who have experience with horse events (from the spectator viewpoint) and folks with the ‘right’ expertise from recent US Olympics Games, and you would have the ‘best ever’ WEG.
Beverley, good points.
And I always love to see a good Seinfeld reference. :lol:
If you are comparing like for like. But remember, WEG charged per half day on many days - effectively doubling their ticket sales on those days; had grounds pass ticket sales which have not been done before, and had a massively higher reining sales than Europe could have ever accomplished.
It would be interesting to see a true comparison.
grounds pass is a good point if that is new, but reining sales… well, chances are there were other disciplines that would sell more over there. It’s not fair to compare that either. You can’t get dinged for having a fan base!
How much was an avg Aachen ticket, I wonder? Everyone talks about it, but I’m not sure I’ve actually seen the pricing in the then existing exchange rate. LOL, for all we know it could have been near the price of the grounds pass, thus meaning the 'Merkans got people to see less for more $. Now that’s American sales power.
DMK - here’s the comparison I posted a few months ago - copied directly from H&H.
I think you perhaps missed my main point - that Aachan charged per FULL day of dressage etc - not per half day. That means that Kentucky WEG sales are always going to be significantly higher if you are comparing ticket sales as they sold two tickets per customer, where previous WEGs charged one. There’s also the issue of the grounds pass tickets. The reason I mentioned Reining is that an earlier poster said there was a ‘ready made’ audience in Europe. As you say; yes for some, no for others.
Here is the previous post:
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/397/300319.html
According to the text in H&H…
It will cost (after price cuts) £198-£258 to watch the 3DE, comparing unfavourably with four days at Badminton (£70 - or £50 if purchased in advance - including a SJ grandstand seat).
Businesses are also staying away. Currently only 140 of the 300 tradestands have been taken. Stands cost a min of $15,000 for a 3x3 booth. Claire Williams, exec Director of the British Equestrian Trade Assoc said: ‘usually we’d take 15-20 companies, but due mainly to the expense of exhibiting and accommodation I had to reject the idea and have diverted the funding to other events.’
Ticket price comparisons with WEG @ Aachen in 2006:
Aachen sport, highest price, lowest price. KY highest price, lowest price.
Aachen Dressage: £59, £8.50 KY Dress £92, £27.50
Aachen SJ: £136, £8.5. KY SJ: £85, £27.50 (interesting reduction by KY here)
Aachen Reining: £34, £8.50 KY: £78.50, £44
Aachen 3DE: £34, £21, KY: £68.50, £21
The tickets in Bold are particularly shocking. These are half day KY prices being compared to FULL day Aachen prices. Wow.
Am I crazy…??? I’m coming to KY… OK, no answers on that one please I’d like to clarify I’m meeting lots of good friends - that will make every penny worthwhile.
(this was X-posted on dressage and eventing forums - here is link to Dressage thread: http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?t=264856&page=7)
OK, that half day thing is confusing me - there was no half day for SJ that I saw - full day, 2 sessions on the ind. day, 1 ticket did both. Maybe it was just a dressage thing? (because we know it wasn’t for xc day or marathon CDE day).
The Aachen SJ prices? Well damn, that is um… impressive… 136 euros compared to 78.50… well that’s certainly a deal breaker price for me, although it was smarter of them to really lower the qualifying days, KY probably would have been smarter to include those in the price of the day pass and up attendance on those days. It looks like KY vastly overestimated how much people were willing to pay to watch dressage, whereas Aachen correctly pegged who is willing to pay the big bucks in their corner of the world (sj fans).
For many things! :lol:
That price comparison is very interesting, though. I wonder if those KY numbers were from before or after they cut some ticket prices.
It was after, from the tone of the article, but KY never reduced top price tix like the ind or team finals so those comparisons are still valid, I would think. The dressage stuff was a big price difference though. Again, still shaking my head in wonderment… fer chrissakes, if the GERMANS didn’t think they’d fill the seats over 60 euros, what is there about America that makes you think we will watch dressage for 92? Boggles, it just boggles.
Special thanks to KY for not charging the equivalent of 136 euros ($188) for SJ tix though. Hugs and kisses, for realz.
[QUOTE=DMK;5180673]
Special thanks to KY for not charging the equivalent of 136 euros ($188) for SJ tix though. Hugs and kisses, for realz.[/QUOTE]
Euros or pounds? I think £136 means 136 pounds. A euro symbol is different. The prices charged at Aachen would have been in euros, but since this is from a British newspaper, they may have converted the amounts to pounds for their readers. If that’s the case, £136 = $215
[QUOTE=Plumcreek;5177580]
The FEI should take advantage of existing venues. Seems to me a return of the WEG to Kentucky could be done more economically seeing as the infrastructure is now built, prices could be lower, and lessons have been learned.
Speaking as a designer who has to invent new, never before done projects all the time, it is freakin’ hard to get every single unknown issue totally right the first time.[/QUOTE]
but the point, from the organizers POV is to create a new venue each time - just like with the Olympics. It generates a HUGE amount of revenue for those companies that build/consult/finance each event.
not a very sustainable way to go.
why not create a sports complex maybe in 4 places around the world and reuse it each year?
Reusing existing infrastructure certainly makes sense for a number of reasons. But I don’t see how it would affect ticket prices, since the KY infrastructure was built with tax dollars and not WEG funds.
oops Matt, my bad! I was not paying too much attention and you are right. So even MORE hugs and kisses and even some rock’n rye (triple thanks for the recipe) for not charging $215! :eek:
My educated guess (as an exhibitor at Equine Village) is just under 250,000 tickets sold.
Based on:
500,000 plus people attended WEG. Probably correct. 500,000 over 16 days equals 31,000 average per day.
But, nearly half of that daily figure included competitors, vendors, exhibitors, volunteers, staff, grooms, and 60,000 or so school kids bused in for free. In other words, non-paying attendees.
Which leaves… 15,000 or so paying customers per day. 180,000 tickets sold at retail by spring 2010. The rest at deep discounts or giveaways to fill the stands.
I think WEG was great for Kentucky, great for Lexington, and great for the Kentucky Horse Park. It was totally awesome to be part of it. And I’m so glad people who participated enjoyed it. Kentucky Bluegrass is an amazing part of horse culture.
