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Study: 2014 Firefly Festival injected nearly $70 million into local economy

A just released impact report is proclaiming the 2014 Firefly Festival an economic success.

The University of Delaware-conducted study revealed the 3rd edition of the fast-growing annual musical extravaganza contributed more than $68 million to the regional economy.

With a recorded attendance near 80 thousand people, that breaks down to about 850 Firefly-generated dollars per ticket sold.

That money was spent mostly on food service, retail, security and hospitality resulting in the equivalent of nearly 600 full-time jobs earning an additional $23 million in salaries and wages.

Government and tourism officials joined festival organizers from Red Frog Events and Dover International Speedway in praising the financial benefits.

And a more widely known Delaware could make it a more popular location for other events.

William Latham - Director for UD's Center for Applied Business & Economic Research - headed up the study and he says they the festival could continue to see additional growth – especially if it adds a second weekend.

He adds the report notes the festival's worldwide reach - and its boost to the state’s reputation is just as significant as the financial effects.

“Firefly drew people from all 50 states and from 24 foreign countries, so that’s a pretty good advertising effect for a relatively small investment by the state in this kind of activity.”

Delaware Tourism Director Linda Parkowski said Firefly gave Kent County a much-needed shot in the arm – but the region is prepared to take advantage of similar opportunities.

“Dover Motorsports, they can already park, house, camp a lot of people," she said. "And as was proven last year by our Department of Transportation, they know how to get large crowds in and out of our state.”

The four-day Firefly festival - which recently announced a TV partnership with AXS-TV to telecast several live performances on cable and satellite television - will be back June 18th for its fourth year.

Click here to download the Economic Contributions of the 2014 Firefly Music Festival report.