Projections for the Main Event

In determining how many people may come to the Main Event and how to go about publicizing it, it is necessary to take into account several factors. The first aspect to consider is the population of Charlottesville. This means more than just numbers; it also includes the array of diverse communities in Charlottesville. There are students, locals, young and old and outdoors enthusiasts. All of these considerations will play a big part in our portion of the project.

• 45409 people live in Charlottesville proper
• 1191 people live in the Prospect Neighborhood alone, which is close to Main St.
• 1295 people live in Starr Hill, which is also immediately adjacent to Main St.
• 19291 students attend UVa.

Charlottesville Precedents:

When you take for example the Downtown Pavilion or Fridays After Five. The pavilion can accommodate a little more than 4000 people. The Pavilion is often full to capacity with more people walking around in the vicinity when there is a big event. Also, when Fridays After Five began, the attendance was in the low hundreds. Now, the number has increased exponentially.

Parking as Factor:

There are 5 parking garages in the vicinity that have at least 400 spots each. If each garage reserved just 200 spots for the Main Event, that would be 1000 parking spaces available for attendees. This could certainly attract people from the whole city of Charlottesville and even beyond to Albemarle County.

We expect to have an initial attendance of around 400. This number would hopefully increase as time goes on. Within a year, we could expect about 2000 people.

Public Relations:    

As far as PR for the Main Event, it would be wise to publicize all over the city in various places. Some key spots would include: restaurants (especially those that would participate), The Hospital and other health service centers, UVa and the Corner, as well as in local schools, churches and other civic places.