The Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) is blaming stormy weather for a major downturn in attendance.
PNE organizers reported 678,193 turnstile clicks at Hastings Park on September 8, the day after the 105th edition closed. That is 91,000 fewer than the 769,242 total in 2014 and 259,000 fewer than 2010, when 937,485 celebrated the centennial fair.
The August 22 to September 7 fair was the third to have a reduced 15-day schedule that includes closures on its first two Mondays. How it all translates to dollars is not yet known. PNE chief financial officer Roger Gil said daily admission revenue would likely be reconciled by the end of September.
PNE charged $16 for adult admission, but scheduled several discounted and complimentary admission promotions. First responders were allowed in free during the first two days of the fair, and Port Metro Vancouver sponsored a two-hour free admission period on August 25. Vancity members got in for $5 all day September 3.
Attendance was up by 5,000 after the sixth day. With a damp middle weekend weather forecast, organizers announced on August 28 that they were opening the gates for free on August 29 and 30 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The storm that cut power to 710,000 Metro Vancouver residences and businesses hit midday August 29, and the fair was temporarily closed before reopening with no admission charge for the rest of the day. The two-hour free admission window on August 30 was extended to four hours.
The two-day attendance was 82,838, compared with 112,821 in the fair’s middle weekend in 2014. The three weekdays after the storm drew only 85,692, in sharp contrast to 168,886 for the same period in 2014.
In an attempt to boost numbers on September 6, admission was free for three hours. The promotion drew 70,681, the biggest crowd of 2015. By comparison, August 28 was the 2015 fair’s smallest crowd, at 23,730.
The 2015 fair boasted nightly free performances of Peter Pan at the Pacific Coliseum, a world premiere Beatles memorabilia exhibition at the Garden and a full slate of amphitheatre concerts.
The annual report for the year ended March 31, 2015, has yet to be published, but the KPMG-audited financial statements were released on the final weekend of the fair. The PNE posted revenue last year of $45.95 million and showed a $402,598 surplus after $45.55 million in expenses.
The PNE is in talks with Canada Revenue Agency after losing its charitable status in July 2014 and estimates a worst-case scenario would be a $225,000 annual tax bill.
