The Hollister Airshow lost money for the fifth of six years in its existence, while council members didn’t show any reluctance toward continuing on for a seventh year.
The event took place over Father’s Day weekend in 2015. City official Mike Chambless, who oversees the airport and air show event, reported on the latest event Tuesday.
Chambless told council members the event had expenses of about $47,000—about $20,000 less than budgeted—and lost about $9,500.
Last year, the air show had about $64,000 in expenses and $38,000 in revenue—about $1,000 more than this year—and lost around $26,000.
It’s the fifth consecutive year of losses for the city after a slight profit the first go-around. This year, the Hollister Airshow actually generated a bit less revenue than last year’s event, but slimmed-down costs helped ease those losses to the bottom line.
Chambless mentioned that on Father’s Day weekend—the city has rotated the event’s dates several times—the air show has to compete with a fly in going on in Columbia. He also cautioned against moving the dates again for the sake of consistency.
Mayor Ignacio Velazquez said he would like to see a more detailed plan on the Hollister Airshow going forward detailing the costs and revenue.
“I’d like to see a plan so it’s not costing us any money,” he said.
