The Nebraska State Fair has seen a nearly 21% increase in attendance after the first four days of the Nebraska State Fair which began last Friday.
According to Joseph McDermott, executive director of the Nebraska State Fair, “A year ago at this time, we had welcomed just over 100,000 fairgoers and this year our attendance stands at 120,791 or an increase of 20.67%. (Daily data included in email)
“The increase, according to McDermott, is at least partially attributable to the Keith Urban Concert on Saturday. A total of 11,780 tickets were sold to the concert with ticket sales in 28 states and three foreign countries.” (Concert data included in email)
In the eastern metropolitan areas, the Omaha metro accounted for 1,088 concertgoers while Lincoln’s contributed 734. The tri-cities of Grand Island, Hastings and Kearney contributed 3,564.
Ed Kruse, Nebraska State Fair Board Chair said, “With the marked increase in attendance we are staying on track with keeping all of our fairgoers happy. Each year we survey our fair guests and use the data to adjust what we do to enhance the fairgoer experience.”
“As an example, those taking the survey gave us a 4.5 out of five points for family friendliness, and 4.5 out of 5 points saying this year’s fair is even better than 2014,” Kruse said adding, “These numbers have remained consistent since Grand Island became the home of the fair in 2010.”
“The number we keep a close eye on is the likelihood of those who have attended the fair to enthusiastically refer the Nebraska State Fair to friends and neighbors. Right now, 88% of fair attendees are likely or very likely to refer the Nebraska State Fair to others and we are very excited about that,” Kruse said.
The remaining concert lineup at the Nebraska State Fair features Tony Orlando tomorrow for Older Nebraskan’s Day with concerts at 11am and 3pm. Thursday, it’s NewsBoys, Friday, Huey Lewis and the News, Saturday, Terry Fator and on Sunday, it’s Jake Owen. All concerts begin at 7:30pm with tickets available at Etix.com.
The Nebraska State Fair is going on now through Monday, September 7 in Grand Island.