A bit short

Deirdre Newman

The “Red, Ripe and Rockin” Orange County Fair came in like a spicy

salsa, but couldn’t quite rival the robust results of last year’s

fair, experiencing a decrease in attendance and revenue and a sour

aftertaste from faulty rides.

The fair was extended from 17 to 21 days this year to provide

patrons a less crowded setting, but the longer run did not translate

into more profit, President Becky Bailey-Findley said.

The financial picture hasn’t completely gelled yet, but officials

are hoping to reach their goal of breaking even, she said. Last year,

the fair made about $3 million in profit, Bailey-Findley said. One

indication shows they might not make that projection, she said.

The final fair attendance slid 2% from last year’s record-breaking

numbers. The fair’s attendance suffered because of competition from

the World Series Champion Anaheim Angels and the U.S. Open of Surfing

in Huntington Beach, as well as general trends in outdoor venues,

Bailey-Findley said.

“I also think that fair attendance and amusement park attendance,

in terms of industry trends, is down right now,” Bailey-Findley said.

“So it may just be a factor of a larger trend.”

The fair hoped to sell 85% of the tickets to the concerts at the

newly opened Pacific Amphitheatre, but they only sold 64%,

Bailey-Findley said Monday. In May, Bailey-Findley said the fair

planned to sell out the amphitheater every night. However, that

doesn’t take into account all the extra revenue sources at the

amphitheater like food, beverage and merchandise, she said.

One positive financial note is that fairgoers spent more per

capita through Saturday on food, beverages and carnival rides than

last summer, she said.

Bailey-Findley said the key to planning next year’s fair will be

refinement. She will recommend going for 21 days again next summer to

continue alleviating the negative effect the fair has had on the

neighborhood in previous years with things like traffic. Officials

will also examine the use of the amphitheater, the Citizens Business

Bank Arena and other exhibits and attractions.

One reason officials expected to break even this year was because

they spent a lot of money enhancing and repairing the amphitheater

and even more on the sound system and hiring a sound engineer, she

said. The venue hosted concerts every night of the fair and lured big

names like Bob Dylan and Duran Duran.

“That was an investment that was worth the price because of the

end result,” Bailey-Findley said.

Bailey-Findley anticipates the amphitheater being an integral part

of the fair next summer, but its use at other times of the year is

still being worked out through the master plan process, she said.

“We knew that we would get some real-time data, especially related

to the sound, and that’s being folded into the process,”

Bailey-Findley said.

Overall, Bailey-Findley said she enjoyed the flavor of this year’s

fair.

“I thought it was a great fair,” Bailey-Findley said. “Very

enjoyable, aside from our accidents, which nobody would ever like

those to happen. I think the fair-going experience was very pleasant

and enjoyable -- lots of different attractions and entertainment and

fun for a huge variety of people from our perspective.”

Two accidents, injuring one person each, occurred at the fair on

the same day, July 13, the third day of the fair.

In the first accident, on the Adrenaline Drop, a woman suffered

injuries when she fell 110 feet toward a net that didn’t prevent her

from landing on the ground.

In the second incident, a 23-year-old woman was hurt riding the

Booster when a 5-inch metal pin came loose and struck her in the

face.

The state investigated both accidents. The Booster investigation

has not concluded.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].