Outside Lands A Major Boon To San Francisco Economy, New Study Finds (INFOGRAPHIC)

Can Outside Lands Save San Francisco?

According to a new study conducted by San Francisco State University, the annual Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in Golden Gate Park brought in just over $60 million to local businesses last year and created 683 full-time equivalent jobs.

In addition to its effects in San Francisco proper, the three-day Another Planet Entertainment-produced festival brought another $6.6 million into the wider Bay Area economy.

Tourism is San Francisco's single biggest industry, raking in about $8 billion annually. While Outside Lands' $60 million is only a small fraction of that number, the multi-day music festival, which has featured megastar acts like Radiohead, Phish and The Arcade Fire in the years since its inception in 2008, is easily one of the largest individual events contributing to that massive haul.

The report found that of the 180,000 attendees at the 2011 festival, one quarter came from San Francisco, another quarter from the surrounding Bay Area and the remaining half traveled in from outside the Bay entirely.

"Outside Lands is an iconic part of San Francisco's summer, bringing people from all over the country--and the world--to our great city," said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee in a statement. "In just four years, Outside Lands has brought significant revenue to the city and helped to create jobs, and I look forward to its fifth year this summer."

It's no surprise that Lee is a such a big booster of Outside Lands--the festival is a boon to city coffers well beyond its effects in expanding the local tax base. Another Planet Entertainment donates a portion of ticket sales to the Recreation and Parks Department on top of what it pays to rent space in the park for the weekend and covers all other city expenses, such as police officers and trash cleanup. The company has donated $4.36 million to the city's parks system over the past four years.

"These funds, coupled with the extensive measures festival promoters make to protect Golden Gate Park make Outside Lands a great partner in maintaining the city's parks," said Parks Department chief Phil Ginsberg.

The report was compiled with information from both online and in-person surveys of over 3,500 attendees of the 2011 festival.

"When we imagined Outside Lands, we set out to create something unique to fit San Francisco's character," said Another Planet Entertainment CEO Gregg Perloff in a statement. "We're proud of the economic and cultural benefits that this event is having on the community."

The fifth annual Outside Lands Festival hits Golden Gate Park's Polo Fields and the newly minted Hellman Hollow this summer.

Check out this infographic detailing some of the story's findings:

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot