ASUA keys on drawing power of premier entertainers

Last week ASUA announced efforts to lure big-time comedic and musical acts to campus. Names mentioned include such famous acts as U2, Dave Chapelle, Dave Matthews Band and Robin Williams. One comedian will be extended a bid up to $150,000 and one band will receive a bid up to $250,000.

While for now these are merely discussions, we should applaud their efforts not only for their ambitious intentions, but also for their feasibility.

Last semester was marked by controversy surrounding a series of speakers, highlighted by the talk by documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. But lost amid the furor over speaker selection was that the talk was a sellout in McKale Center and turned a handsome profit for the Associated Students at the University of Arizona.

Assuming any performance of the proposed magnitude would fill all of McKale Center's 14,545 seats (or in Arizona Stadium, which seats 56,002), tickets wouldn't have to be unreasonable for the concert to turn a profit.

Granted, Moore's fee was much less than any of the proposed acts. Furthermore, concerts at the UA have gone flat in the past, such as the pitiful attendance for The Pharcyde concert last fall.

But for now the numbers sound right. We should be concerned if ASUA is forced to drastically increase its bid, or offers a large bid to an act that wouldn't be a guaranteed success. It's easy to see the concert being a success with U2 or Dave Chapelle (who has already performed to a sellout crowd in Tucson), but if not, even trendy bands wouldn't necessarily create a sellout. A concert that costs $100,000 but only pulls in $80,000 would be a failure.

ASUA should also try to make it so that as many UA students as possible can attend the event, keeping in the spirit of its mandate. But when it comes to finances, marketing the concert outside the UA sounds essential.

Last spring ASUA tried to rush through a $30 activity fee that would be used to pay for these types of performances. The measure failed, as it should have, but ASUA is doing what it should have been doing all along - following the laws of economics and holding events only when they are financially self-supporting.

The university shouldn't be in the business of subsidizing entertainment, but it should take advantage of having McKale Center to hold concerts. If the building sits unused, it's merely a wasted opportunity.

The chances of ASUA actually landing these acts are uncertain. Moreover, complications can always arise later, as they have in the past with bands pulling out of CatFest at the last minute.

But for now, the initiative is welcome. Watching Robin Williams give his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes was entertaining and humorous, but how much better would it be if he were performing right here on campus?

Opinions are determined by the Wildcat opinions board and written by one of its members. They are Evan Caravelli, Brett Fera, Caitlin Hall, Ryan Johnson and Jesse Lewis.