With Spring Fling right around the corner, the Social Planning and Events Committee has been working to ensure that everything runs smoothly -- and that costs don't run over the budget.
In fact, after running deficits for the last two years, organizers are being extra cautious this year.
According to College senior Tom Kurland, director of SPEC Concerts, last year's Spring Fling concert ran a $62,000 deficit.
"SPEC [itself] did not lose money, but SPEC Concerts lost money the past two years," Kurland said. "Our venue costs were incredibly high, our talent was extremely expensive and we expected to sell more tickets than we actually did."
However, organizers say that these losses did not affect their budget for this year.
"We had a reserve fund from last year that covered our losses," said College senior Darryl Wooten, the SPEC chairman. "Our losses weren't carried over to this year, but at the same time we can't afford to have losses like that again."
One plan of action that SPEC Concerts may implement is changing the location of the Spring Fling concert from Franklin Field to Wynn Commons.
"We want to create an intimate college venue," Kurland said. "We're trying a smaller venue, a whole different type of artist."
"Our ultimate budget for talent this year is going to stay the same, but we're going to try to spread that out further," Kurland said, adding that SPEC wants to "make it more like a festival-type feel and less like a two-opener and one-headliner."
SPEC officials have not announced who the artist will be, but said it will likely be a different genre from the past several years, which have featured rap artists. Kurland said that they are in "final negotiations."
"I can say definitively it's not going to be hip-hop," he said. "It's going to be more guitar- and vocals-driven music."
Wharton sophomore Zach Coopersmith agrees that he would rather see a quality concert rather than just a mediocre headliner.
"Bring bands that are good in concert, not just a big name," he said. "Kids would much rather see a better concert than just see a big name standing up there and singing someone else's songs."
