GREEN BAY (NBC26) — The weekend of May 15 is packed with events, rivaling the NFL draft in terms of occupancy, and is expected to have an economic impact of more than $20 million.
- Two Luke Combs concerts, a Shinedown concert, the Epic Marathon and Running Festival, and the WAMO State Dart Tournament fall on the same weekend for Green Bay.
- Ashwaubenon Village Administrator and the CEO of Discover Green Bay say the weekend will rival the NFL Draft in terms of occupancy.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Brian Stenzel, president at Epic Event Center in Green Bay, says he’s excited for their second annual running festival.
"Everybody who participated in it last year loved it, so we’re happy to bring it back for year two," he says. "We have a guitar to start with the national anthem, we have DJs on course, we have bands on course– just the energy and smiles on people as they come across the finish line, it’s great.”
This year, they’ve run into a slight issue.
“It’s been a little tough for us, numbers are flat to slightly down because of everything that’s going on," he says. "Hard to get hotel rooms and whatnot. Even for the artists we have performing that day, it’s tough to get the rooms we need. It's a good problem to have; it's stalled our event slightly, but that's okay, it's bringing people to the Green Bay area."
The marathon is on May 17.
On May 15 and 16, country singer Luke Combs is performing at Lambeau Field.
On May 13, the rock band Shinedown comes to the Resch Center.
And May 13-17 is the 41st annual WAMO State Dart Tournament.
“We always talk about how it’d be nice if we could spread things out, but it doesn’t always work that way," Brad Toll, CEO of Discover Green Bay, says.
Toll says hotels and short-term rentals are nearly booked for the weekend. Occupancy, he says, will likely reach NFL Draft-levels, but economic impact or crowd size won't get that high.
"The draft was the largest event we’ve ever brought to Green Bay," he says.
Still, May 13-17 is set to be one of the biggest weekends of the year.
“WAMO, which is the dart tournament, and the marathon, that’s going to bring in roughly $5.5 million in economic impact, and the concerts will be a little more than $10 million per concert, so it'll be an awesome weekend," Toll says. "Well over $20 million closing in on $30 million for economic impact, which is fantastic.”
