Board signs on to 10-year festival agreement, citing millions in regional tourism impact

Sacramento County supervisors on June 9 moved by consent to authorize a ten-year agreement with promoter Danny Wimmer Presents to produce the Aftershock and related festivals at Discovery Park.

Speakers from Visit Sacramento, the Sacramento Hotel Association and downtown hoteliers told the board the event drives high-value, multi-day visitation that benefits hotels, restaurants and other local businesses. "This event brings more than 160,000 people to our region," said Carrie (Visit Sacramento chief operating officer), noting the festival and an estimated multi-million-dollar impact. David Huber, a hotel general manager, said Aftershock has transformed October hotel performance with higher occupancies and rates.

Supervisor Hume and other board members said the county has negotiated public investments in site improvements such as paving and emphasized contractual commitments to promote local businesses, especially in unincorporated areas that should benefit from festival spending.

The consent calendar that included the agreement passed 5-0 with the required recusal noted on an unrelated item. Staff said the county will implement site improvements tied to the partnership and track local benefits as part of ongoing event management.

What happens next: execution of the ten-year agreement, implementation of paving and sitework investments and monitoring of local-business promotion commitments.