UAPRESENTS CONTINUES ITS RECOVERY

posted by James Reel

In the latest Tucson Weekly, you’ll find in the Mailbag section a noble defense of yours truly by a reader I swear I do not know. More pertinent to the self-aggrandizing, self-promoting nature of this blog is my own contribution, checking in with UApresents:

After accumulating a $1 million deficit in 2006, campus impresario UApresents has finished its second consecutive positive fiscal year with more than a $90,000 surplus and a 12 percent uptick in advance-ticket sales. Part of the turnaround can be attributed to shedding some staff members over the past couple of years, and part is linked to more aggressive fundraising within the community (ticket sales now are expected to cover only 55 percent of costs, as opposed to as much as 85 percent in the past). The rest of the turnaround is due to refocused programming: more attractions with immediate name recognition that are relatively inexpensive to engage. Keep expenses down; maintain ticket prices and fundraising at a healthy level; add some state funding; and if all goes well, the result is a balanced budget.

The rest of the story awaits you here.