3 Ideas for Cities to Market Themselves Towards Young Professionals Part 1: The Power of Music and Events

It's 2023 and we are seeing a revitalization in cities like we have never seen before. Gone is the trend of the 1950s-1970s of suburbanization and deindustrialization which has led to the notable decline of some of America's most famous and recognizable cities. In fact, the City of Detroit 's rebound from bankruptcy in 2013 to the boom it is today is remarkable while still maintaining it's well known historical charm. From construction of the 685 ft mixed-use Hudson's Site and renovation of the historical Book Tower thanks to Bedrock Detroit , an expansion of Henry Ford Health in New Center, and 福特 's refurbishment of the abandoned Michigan Central Station into an global mobility hub amongst many more initiatives, the City of Detroit is one of many cities that has seen a decline in population over the past few decades make a staggering comeback. Similar cities include the City of Baltimore with Under Armour 's development of Port Covington into a massive $5.5 billion dollar investment with more than 14 million sq. ft of development space, the City of Cincinnati 's construction of TQL Stadium and surrounding mixed-use development, and the City of St. Louis 's plan to build an 80 acre mixed-use development called Chouteau's Landing (named after the Chouteau Family) which is estimated to cost at $1.2 Billion. All in all, we are seeing billions of dollars being reinvested in our cities. No longer are cities being seen as 9-5 business districts, but rather as a hub where people can eat, live, work, play, and enjoy life in an urban and stress free community full of amenities such as public transit, parks, and recreation.

However, at a time where interest rates are skyrocketing, capital costs have increased in some cases up to three fold, and a 14.1% materials cost increase from 2021 to 2022 with no signs of slowdown according to 世邦魏理仕 , there is a good chance that some of these proposals may not be built according to the master plan drawn up by these developers. As a result, it is time for cities all across the nation to get creative and think a little outside the box other than "How can we get Economic Development into our cities outside of new apartment and mixed-use construction?" Well, I am here with a 3 part series on how cities can help market themselves towards young professionals, coming from the advice of a young professional. For this first part, I stress the importance of music and events within a city and why cities across the nation should prioritize these industries to help their cities flourish during times of boom or bust.

1. Who Doesn't Love a Festival or Convention?

Recently in Columbia, SC, one of the more controversial decisions in terms of economic development made was the proposal to expand the city's convention center. The convention center (the only downtown convention center in the state), which was estimated to cost around $511 million (including $75 million from public funds) if it were to expand, would have increased the 142,500 sq. ft. convention center (with only 58,971 rentable space) to 214,500 sq. ft. with the option of potentially hosting multiple conventions at once. In addition, it would have seen a massive mixed used development in The Vista District that would have seen up to 675 hotel rooms and 195 luxury apartments near a bustling shopping and restaurant scene, adding much needed tourism and residents to this rapidly evolving district. However, despite support from organizations such as the Main Street District and Columbia Opportunity Resource | COR , this proposal was turned down and as a result the city has missed out on multiple events such as the NCAA Basketball Tournament, which was instead hosted in nearby Greenville, SC.

A success story when it comes to convention centers can be found in Sacramento, CA, where organizations such as Greater Sacramento Economic Council led by Barry Broome , Visit Sacramento led by Mike Testa , and the Downtown Sacramento Partnership pushed for an expansion of the decades old convention center which culminated in a $350 million dollar public project that renovated the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and Theater and added up to 100,000 sq. ft. of meeting and exhibit space. As a result, up to 25 more events are expected to come to the city over 5 years which will lead up to 150,000 new hotel nights are expected, bringing hundreds of millions in economic impact and tens of thousands of tourists to the metropolitan area as well as a brand new 28 story, 350 key hotel that will be connected to the the convention center.

As admittedly boring some conventions or conferences can be, some notable conventions, especially if tied to the interests of Gen Z and Millennials (examples include regional or state Anime and Comic Conventions, Gaming Conventions, etc.) will provide a huge economic boost to the city where tens of thousands of tourists and locals can get together, enjoy the festivities, and indulge in the surrounding food, arts, and entertainment scene nearby. This in turn increases nearby foot traffic and encourages potential companies, entrepreneurs, and investors to build in and around the district. In fact, cities all across the nation have seen development not only around their convention centers, but also around event venues such as sports stadiums to try and capture those event goers that are browsing around the city. Through Public-Private investment, conventions can easily be brought to cities willing to make the investment, and while the price tag may not initially be pretty (especially short term), the long term benefits will come in and lead to revitalization within the urban core.

Another major draw to young professionals are festivals. Every week you may hear a colleague tell friends the next concert or festival they are going to and how much they are not only looking forward to hearing great music, but also touring the surrounding area. This has resulted in small towns and areas such as Woodstock, Coachella, and Newport to become household names within the music industry and has resulted in millions of visitors to come to these otherwise obscure areas in the US. As more and more artists begin to tour, the more and more cities should be trying to establish festivals in their area. One notable duo of festivals includes the Heavy Metal based Aftershock Festival and Country based Golden Sky Festival held in Sacramento, CA through Danny Wimmer Presents . These two festivals held back to back at Discovery Park has led to a total of 210,000 festival goers in the span of two weeks to come to Sacramento, bringing in up to $30 million in economic impact on Aftershock alone.

Now picture this, reader. You're a college student or upcoming college student trying to decide where to go for college, and one of the universities you stumble across online says that they are 5 minutes away from a well known music festival in Downtown hosting your favorite artists and singers. Would that play into your decision to going to that university? I know for some people it most certainly will. There are many universities in downtown areas, to name a few some include Baylor University, The Ohio State University, the University of South Carolina, Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Wisconsin, I could go on and on! The university and cities home to these universities are missing out on a key demographic who are more than willing to spend hundreds of dollars to travel and attend these music festivals all across the nation, so why not bring it to your city? This way, not only university students can enjoy it, but also residents of the local metropolitan area and tourists and concert goers from all across the nation if not the world can as well!

What would the impact of this be? Monumental, if not game changing for a city. The attendance and energy brought from the festival will spread throughout the city and surrounding area; not only will your city see the typical spending at the local restaurants, breweries, shops, and hotels nearby, but if you partner with these businesses to come and sell their product at the festival, this will help these small businesses flourish and help create this idea that your city is an incubator for small business to grow by giving them opportunities they can only dream of. This also increases the marketability of your city, imagine hearing your city be known as a city of festivals, full of energy and great things to do, leading to that instantly recognizable name that was aforementioned. In addition, universities will see their admission applications skyrocket, as it will add on to this idea that the university has a good balance of academics, athletics, and culture around the campus and city, something that a lot of professionals look for themselves once they graduate.

Conclusion

All in all, we have seen first hand the importance of festivals and concerts all across the nation; millions of tourists flock to the surrounding area for a weekend or week, spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars at the festival and surrounding sights and shops, and eagerly look forward to next years event, all while telling their friends and building up the name of the city hosting the event to household status. While the investment in bringing in these events may cost quite a bit in the short run, the hole in the ground will soon become a giant mountain, standing so tall that all the adjacent areas can hear the music (and money) pour in as you sit back and enjoy the sight of new faces of young professionals, college students, residents, and tourists all intermingle at the sight of one of the most recognizable places in the nation: the home of your music festival and event.