Local businesses hope for boost from Common Ground attendees

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Downtown Lansing businesses are hoping the Common Ground music festival will be a high note in a summer dominated by news of job losses.

The festival begins today and runs through Sunday in Adado Riverfront Park and at the intersection of Shiawassee Street and North Washington Avenue in Lansing. Five stages will feature both nationally known and local performers.

Local businesses are hoping to profit from the thousands of music lovers expected to converge on the city. Mike Walsh, general manager of Rum Runners, 601 E. Michigan Ave., said the bar was sponsoring the festival for the third time. He said Rum Runners also generally had good crowds during previous years.

“It works to our advantage that people are already out and already having a good time,” he said.

Jennifer Schoon, manager of Nuthouse Sports Grill, 420 E. Michigan Ave., said she had seen an increase in customers during the festival in previous years.

“It brings thousands of people into the area,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to feed some people some dinner and some drinks on the way in or out.”

Last year, 81,000 people attended the festival, bringing $5.1 million of business into the city, said Melinda Barr of Get Up & Grow, which handles the festival’s public relations. Barr said she expected good attendance but couldn’t predict a specific number.

“This year we are excepting really strong single day ticket sales, and those are hard to plan on and project as they happen day by day instead of in advance,” she said in an e-mail.

Walsh said he wasn’t worried about the economy keeping visitors away.

“I think they’ve done a good job keeping Common Ground affordable for everyone,” he said.

Schoon said she knew some people who planned their vacations to coincide with the festival because of the relatively inexpensive concerts.

“I think a lot of people look forward to this every year,” she said.

Daily tickets cost $32 and are available at www.commongroundfest.com, or at the festival office in the Lansing City Market, 333 N. Cedar St., in Lansing. A weeklong pass costs $95.

Barr estimated about 62 to 64 percent of festival visitors come from outside Mid-Michigan.

Megan Bergland, a front desk receptionist at SpringHill Suites, 111 S. Marketplace Boulevard in Lansing, said she hadn’t seen an increase in reservations for the week of the festival.

“It’s a regular-paced week,” she said.

Barr said 51,000 people attended the festival when it was founded 10 years ago. Its highest attendance was in 2007, when 88,000 people came. The $1.8 million budget for the festival comes from ticket sales as well as sponsorships and partnerships, Barr said.

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