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The Honorable City Council
Page 3
NOODLE ӏ The Thinkers Convention: Economic and Fiscal
Impact, Event Expenditures, and Planned Public Release
Event Expenditures
Funding for the convention was provided to the Port Warwick Foundation, a
Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit partner for $3,030,000, which contracted with and
transmitted a total of $3,000,000 to Global Music Touring (GMT), the event’s
national producer, in two installments dated January 2 and Mar 19, 2026, as
documented by cashier’s check copies on file. The city’s financial contribution
to GMT was fixed at this $3,000,000 grant amount. The producer’s Summary of
Material Expenditures reports total actual costs of $3,191,726 against a budget
of $3,050,000, an overage of $141,726, or approximately 4.6 percent. Costs above
the $3,000,000 grant were borne by the production company, not the city.
Talent and staffing came in under budget, while production technology, heavy
equipment and labor, and creative services exceeded their lines. The largest
single line was one the budget had not anticipated: $227,822 for city-required
services and city-directed changes, including the designated parking vendor,
permitting and associated legal costs, additional security and barricades, and
waste removal, janitorial, and emergency medical services (EMS). Table 2
presents the budget-to-actual detail, and Table 3 summarizes the payments to
the producer.
Table 2: Event Expenditures, Budget versus Actual
(Producer Summary, June 23, 2026)
Category
Budget
Actual
Variance
Production build
$1,000,000
$968,850
($31,150)
Rentals
$125,000
$125,217
$217
Production technology
$125,000
$183,415
$58,415
Talent
$900,000
$700,494
($199,506)
Security
$125,000
$150,000
$25,000
Staffing
$300,000
$255,000
($45,000)
Heavy equipment and labor
$80,000
$136,489
$56,489
Creative services
$230,000
$270,920
$40,920
Marketing
$80,000
$80,000
$0
Transportation
$55,000
$36,424
($18,576)
Food and beverage
$15,000
$25,937
$10,937
Lodging and travel
$15,000
$31,158
$16,158
City mandates and use of city
services
$0
$227,822
$227,822
Total
$3,050,000
$3,191,726
$141,726Jump to an indexed page (6 of 6)