Speaking Rock Bringing In The Bands, But How Are They Doing It?

Borderland music fans are probably well aware that Speaking Rock has a series of more free shows coming up, starting with Stone Temple Pilots on Wednesday night.

But how are the Tiguas able to put on concerts for free? Speaking Rock’s general manager says the free shows are part of a marketing strategy to bring customers back, after the casino was forced to close back in 2002.

“We’re going to try and generate as much traffic as we can,” said Carl Maahs, general manager at Speaking Rock for the past eight years and the man behind the free concert concept. “We’re able to do this for free because we own the facility, everything here is retained. We keep all the liquor sales, we keep the food sales, we keep the alcohol sales and the tobacco sales and it’s very profitable for us.”

Maahs said the key is attendance. For a show like Stone Temple Pilots, they’ll need about 10,000 to 15,000 to show up in order to at least break even.

“So if we only have a few hundred, we lose money,” he said. “If we get thousands and thousands, we’ve got the opportunity to make some money.”

Tribal Councilman Trini Gonzalez said when the casino closed, about 600 tribal members lost their jobs. But because of the free concerts, about 200 are back.

“It’s a genius marketing strategy,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of people think speaking rock entertainment center is closed, so it was a way to draw a lot of people in here to show them that we are in fact not closed.”

El Paso County Coliseum Director Brian Kennedy books shows for that facility. And he said the free shows at Speaking Rock have had an impact on his facility.

“There are shows that will bypass us because they’re going to be doing a show down there,” Kennedy said.

For instance, Korn, who Speaking Rock paid $200,000 to play a free show, the same act the Coliseum booked for $110,000 last year.

“Selfishly, you just have to bring better acts,” Kennedy said in order to compete with Speaking Rock. “You have to bring the big acts that people are willing to pay for.”

Kennedy said the Coliseum hopes to better compete with Speaking Rock when it opens its new outdoor arena later this year. He added they’re considering making the first show, like Speaking Rock, free.

Related Link:Link:Speaking Rock Free Concert Series Schedule