Misinformation machine? Or just passionite concerns?
Interested in LVEC entertainment facilities - and only the true facts?
Stat's Canada Report on performing arts, sports and entertainment trends are a necessary research tool to access the LVEC in Kingstons downtown location.
In Contrast:
Naysayers critiquing the LVEC "passionately"..without such knowledge or experience concerns many of us..in the know.
Examples of misinformation trends to consider.........
- KCAL's only (so called) sports center guru Ms. Adams, who has recently admitted:
"She has neither researched, studied or has any experience with LVEC's".
- She also has never given KCAL permission to publish any of her "opinions".
- KCAL (armchair analysis) from day one is based almost entirely on Whig Standard articles and "small town" conspiracy theories.
Bruce Todd (who is not a traffic engineer) is their only resident traffic cop. But, he has no experience with logistics or drayage management that are fundamental elements of an LVEC!
These are KCAL best sources? - For public concerns to be considered?
KCAL so called "concerns" i.e traffic, parking accessibility and project budgets are certainly project issues to be addressed. OK fine..but
Frankly thats why we pay City Staff, consultants, do critical studies, drawings and schedules with the likes of Elis Don, building professionals - not to mention (2) two city councils to address all the issues within their mandates.
Does KCAL really have the right to try to cherry pick projects?
If they start critiquing the "hard facts" responsibly..
Or mind their own "concerns"...without inflating it with local here say.
Taxpayers would be better off without such misinformation.
PROFESSIONAL SOURCES:
Remember our LVEC is:
1) "Multifunctional, ...not just a ice rink, not just a concert facility".
2) Entertainment spending has risen steadily over the past several years.
3) Economy is doing well, 3 percent growth on average, low inflation, resource based economy expected to outpace all others for 10 years + (low unemployment)
4) See conclusions: if you are not interested in all the supporting data!
Consumer demand for entertainment services outside the home...
Introduction:
In recent years, Canadians have spent more on entertainment.
For their homes, demand has risen for such goods as home entertainment systems and computers. Households are also spending more on home services such as cable television and high speed Internet access1.
There has concurrently been an increase in demand for entertainment outside the home. The entertainment services outside the home discussed in this article include attendance at movie theatres, performing arts and spectator sports events and admissions to heritage institutions.
Expenditures on these services comprised 0.44% of the average household's overall spending budget in 2003, up from 0.41% in 1998.
This shift in preferences and growth in incomes, population and prices caused the consumer market for entertainment services to expand from $2.3 billion in 1998 to $3.2 billion in 2003, an increase of 41%. Entertainment services outside the home not only entertain those that consume them, they also offer platforms for performers and bring cultural as well as natural heritage closer to Canadians.
As the entertainment services market grows, the providers of these services face the challenge of retaining existing customers and attracting new ones. Knowing how consumer characteristics such as income, type of household and geographical location affect entertainment spending can enable suppliers to better provide and market their services.
Based primarily on Survey of Household Spending (SHS) data from 1998 and 2003, this article examines changes over the five year period in household spending on entertainment services. In particular, it investigates how spending changed in each province and for some household types and each household income quintile. It also looks at how the performance of entertainment services providers may have been affected by such changes.
Methodology
Spending on entertainment services highly dependent on income levels
Increased spending and profits for movie theatres
Spending on live performing arts highest in Ontario
Quebecers spend the least on live sporting events
Household spending at heritage institutions is low and growing slowly
Conclusion
References
Methodology
Most data for this article come from the 1998 and the 2003 results of the Survey of Household Spending (SHS), an annual cross sectional survey, that looks at the spending behaviour of Canadian households. The SHS defines a household as members currently residing at the same dwelling as the reference person. A household may consist of a family or group of unrelated persons or of a person living alone. Household members who are temporarily absent on the reference day are considered part of their usual household.
The SHS yields detailed information on household spending on goods and services, including food, shelter, household operations, transportation, recreation and other items. Detailed demographic information is also available for categories such as household type, age, income and geographical location.
The sample sizes for the 1998 and 2003 surveys were 20,236 and 23,896 respectively. Households from the ten provinces and three territories were covered. However, since much of the territorial data from 1998 are incomplete, the territories are excluded from this article's geographical comparisons.
Note that, because this article focuses only on “out of home entertainment services”, it excludes expenditures on such things as “in-home” entertainment goods (for example, televisions, computers, etc…) and services such as the Internet, cablevision, satellite and video and DVD rentals.
The per household expenditures cited on this article also include spending outside the province of residence and even spending outside of Canada. It is also important to note that some of the industry revenue figures include revenues earned from foreigners, as well as revenues coming from sources other than households.
This article also presents statistics for the industries providing entertainment services outside the home. These results mostly come from the following Statistics Canada surveys:
Motion Pictures Theatre Survey
The Annual Survey of Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
Performing Arts Survey
Spending on entertainment services highly dependent on income levels
The average household spent $2732 on entertainment services outside the home in 2003, a 31% increase from 19983. This growth far exceeded the 13% increase in the all-items Consumer Price Index and the 19% growth rate of household spending on all goods and services. The rapid growth for entertainment services occurred, in part, because the average household's income rose in real terms during the same period4. Entertainment services are discretionary commodities rather than necessities, therefore spending on these services may well increase whenever incomes rise.
Of the $273 that households spent on entertainment services, over two-thirds was spent attending movies ($106 per household) and live performing arts ($85).
The remainder went to paying to see live sporting events and visiting heritage institutions, on which households spent an average of $46 and $36, respectively (Chart 1).
Chart 1 Household spending on entertainment services outside the home
In terms of growth from 1998 to 2003, spending on live sports events grew most rapidly (44%). Conversely, average household spending at heritage institutions grew at the slowest rate (13%).
Spending on entertainment services outside the home is relatively low in the Maritime provinces, where the average household spent an average of $189. This result is not surprising as household incomes in the region are considerably below the national average.
In contrast, Ontario households, on average, spent $326 on entertainment services in 2003 - the most in Canada (Chart 2). They were followed by households in Alberta ($323), and British Columbia ($271).
The fact that households in these same provinces had Canada's highest before-tax incomes further supports the contention that entertainment services spending is highly discretionary and therefore dependent on income.
Chart 2 Average household spending on entertainment services outside the home
So too does spending data for various income quintiles. On average, households in the highest income quintile5 spent $602 in 2003 on entertainment services, more than triple the $191 average for other households. In contrast, households in the lowest income quintile spent an average of $70.
Even though households in the lowest quintile increased their entertainment services spending by 43% from 1998 to 2003 (this was highest growth rate for any quintile) they accounted for only one-twentieth of the entire consumer market for entertainment services outside the home in 2003.
Among various types of households, on average, couples with children spend the most ($384 in 2003) in part because these households are large and earn the highest incomes6. However, on a per capita basis, their expenditures are not out of the ordinary. At the other end of the spectrum, one-person households aged 65 and over by far spent the least ($67). This is likely due to their relatively low incomes and the fact that these households comprise only one person.
Moreover, mobility constraints can make it more difficult for some of these individuals to enjoy entertainment outside the home, and those that so do frequently benefit from seniors' discounts on prices.
From 1998 to 2003, the fastest-growing segment of the consumer market for entertainment services outside the home was lone parent households. These households accounted for $169 million in entertainment services spending in 2003, up 61% from 1998. There are two probable explanations for this rapid growth.
First, incomes for these households rose relatively rapidly and, second, the number of lone parent households has risen since 19987.
While incomes, province of residence and household type all affect levels of entertainment services spending, there are other factors that might also influence consumer behaviour, but which are beyond the scope of this article.
For example, cultural differences and rural versus urban demand differences could also affect spending levels on entertainment services.
Increased spending and profits for movie theatres
Movie theatres earned operating revenues of $1.2 billion, largely from consumers, in 2003/04, up 47% from 1998/998.
Most of this increase was due to attendance growth and higher ticket prices. Ticket prices, on average, increased by 37% from 1998/99 to 2003/04 to reach $7.45.
Even though ticket prices rose far more rapidly than the overall rate of inflation9, this did not dampen consumer demand. Movie attendance rose by 8% from 1998/99 to 2003/04 to reach 118.2 million.
The average household spent $106 going to the movies in 2003. Residents of Ontario and Alberta are the most avid movie goers, spending around $120 per household. In contrast, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador ($65) and Saskatchewan ($62) spent the least. In terms of growth from 1998 to 2003, household spending at movie theatres rose most rapidly in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Ontario.
Among the income quintile groups, average per household expenditures to attend movies increased most rapidly for the two highest quintiles.
By 2003, these households accounted for nearly two-thirds of spending at movie theatres, even though they comprise just half of Canada's population10.
Of the various types of households, lone parent households spent an average of $127, and their 1998-2003 growth rate of spending to attend movies was the highest of all household types. Couples with children spent the most attending movies (an average of $161 per household).
This is not surprising due to their large household size, high income levels, and the frequency with which young people attend movies. Age indeed appears to affect movie attendance. For example, individuals aged 65 and over who live alone spent the least ($18) on attending movies.
Mega-theatres have become more popular in metropolitan areas at the expense of smaller theatres, increasing the number of screens nationwide while cutting down the number of theatres. Movie theatres earned operating profits of $52.7 million in 2003/04, a healthy rebound from a loss of $28.9 million in 2001/02. The industry's profits improved because of the success of larger theatres. In contrast, medium and small theatres incurred losses of varying degrees in 200311.
Spending on live performing arts highest in Ontario
The average Canadian household spent $85 to attend live performing arts events in 2003. Spending varied by region. Ontario households spent the most ($105) while households in the four Maritime provinces spent the least. Although they comprise 7.5% of Canada's population, Maritimers accounted for only 4.4% of all household expenditures on performing arts.
Conclusion
The average household's spending on entertainment services outside the home rose by nearly one-third in nominal terms from 1998 to 2003, a period in which the all-items Consumer Price Index rose by only 13%. Spending on such services is far more discretionary than it is necessary. Therefore, much of the 1998-2003 growth arose from a real increase in the average household's income level during that period, as well as an increase in the availability of these entertainment services.
The notion that entertainment services spending is discretionary is further supported by household spending breakdowns for the provinces and for different income quintiles.
Spending is lowest in the Maritime provinces, where incomes are the lowest.
The converse is also true, with households in high income provinces like Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia leading the way in entertainment services spending.
Moreover, on average, households in the highest income quintile spent $602 in 2003 on entertainment services, while households in the lowest quintile spent an average of $70.
This relationship between income and spending exists to varying degrees for each of the four types of entertainment services outside the home that are covered by this article, suggesting that spending for each of these services is highly discretionary.
Nevertheless, the performances of suppliers of the four types of services varied widely.
Movie theatres profited from increased demand. Despite a sharp increase in ticket prices, attendance and household spending at movie theatres continued to grow.
Similarly, higher household spending helped the performing arts industry to double its operating profit margin from 2000 to 2003.
Conversely, although the average household increased its spending on live spectator sports by 48% from 1998 to 2003, the suppliers of these services continued to lose money. (Professional Sports events with high salary atheltic personnel) Not Intermediate rated or Memorial cup events)
Profit margins remained low for heritage institutions. Of the four entertainment services covered in this article, households spent the least on visiting heritage institutions, and this spending only rose marginally from 1998 to 2003.
Among the various types of households, couples with children spend the most on entertainment services by virtue of their relatively high household incomes and the fact that their households contain a higher than average number of people.
In contrast, people aged 65 and over who lived alone spend the least.
This may be due to their relatively low incomes, the fact only one person accounts for all spending, and seniors discounts. As well, health limitations may, in some cases, restrict opportunities for these people to gain access to entertainment services outside the home.
posted by LVEC EDUCATED at 12:59 p.m.
0 comments
