The Outside Lands Music Festival, held each August in Golden Gate Park, generated $60 million for San Francisco’s economy and created more than 650 jobs, according to a report by Dr. Patrick Tierney, of San Francisco State University, released by festival organizers.

It's all smiles with Mayor Ed Lee, the Department of Parks and Recreation and Outside Lands.

Information for the report, “Economic Impact of the 2011 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival on the City of San Francisco and the Bay Area,” was gathered at the festival last year and an online survey of 3,551 attendees. In 2011, 180,000 tickets were sold for the three-day event. In addition to the benefits listed above, festival organizers have donated $4.36 million to the San Francisco Parks & Recreation Department since the festival’s debut at Golden Gate Park four years ago.

More details from the report:

• Seventy-two percent of respondents who attended the 2011 festival lived outside of San Francisco. Of these non-residents, 93 percent stated that Outside Lands was one of the most important reasons for their visit to San Francisco

• The festival created 683 full-time equivalent jobs—mostly short-term—in San Francisco. The greater Bay Area also increased employment with 73 new jobs

• The average concertgoer spent more than $400 over the weekend-long festival. Transportation, food/beverages and lodging were the three largest expenditures

Parks & Rec is apparently happy with the deal:

“Each year Outside Lands contributes more than a million dollars to support San Francisco’s parks, which has helped keep our parks beautiful and our recreation centers open,” said Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, in a press release. “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.”

Mayor Ed Lee’s Statement:

“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. Outside Lands’ organizers have gone to great lengths to not only make this a great weekend of entertainment, but to establish an exemplary festival that supports local arts and businesses and our parks, helps make San Francisco a leader in sustainability, and respects the local community. 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.”

Are you happy with Outside Lands’ contribution to San Francisco and its impact on the City?

• Tag: Outside Lands