In light of the recent MainSTAGe concert headlining Zara Larsson, Fairfield University Student Association (FUSA) President Andrew Mejia ‘26 revealed that, with organizing this annual event, the goal of FUSA is to break even as opposed to earning profit. However, Director of FUSA Programming Emily Aschenbrenner ‘25 admitted to a loss of money this year.
FUSA provides $220,000 of MainSTAGe’s budget, equalling about two-thirds of the total cost. The rest, Mejia continued, is hopefully compensated by ticket sales. He said that fall 2024 ticket sales were similar to spring 2024 ticket sales, reaching around 500 sold. Taking the average of $45 and $65 — the range of ticket prices depending on seat location — total ticket profit would be $27,500.
“To also clarify, neither FUSA nor the University itself makes money off of the concert,” he said. “It is funded to give students the [best] experience possible while keeping the cost of the event to a minimum. The goal is to break even, not to make profit.”
Aschenbrenner discussed the organization’s loss of money after 2Chainz performed this spring, heightening budget challenges for Larsson’s show. Despite “rumblings” of ending the MainSTAGe series after 2Chainz’s “flop,” Aschenbrenner relayed optimism for future concerts and pinned the discourse as only rumors. “Yes, a lot of money spent, but, like, money well spent,” she said. “It went really well.”
While they did not sell as many tickets as they hoped, Aschenbrenner stressed the dedication and work put in by FUSA for this year’s concert, claiming that the tickets they did sell were a “major success.”
Nonetheless, this year’s performance faced some criticism from students. Results from a Fizz poll revealed that out of 842 participants, only 305 of them said they would be attending Larsson’s concert, with 507 claiming they would not. A different Fizz post read: “Unpopular opinion I think Zara [Larsson] and the Fitz and the Tantrums is so much better than last year.”
Ticket prices for the fall concert were slightly cheaper than those for the spring, totaling $55 for Floor seats and $45 for Lower Bowl in November, as opposed to April’s $65 for Floor and $55 for West Bleachers. However, independent research from The Mirror found that a General Admission ticket fee for one of Larsson’s concerts was $42.74. This particular ticket was for her Nov. 5 show in Boston.
In a city not known to be cheap, this price may come as a shock. Boston’s fee was approximately $15 less than at Fairfield’s arena: $55 for Fairfield students and $65 for student guests.
“It wasn’t that MainSTAGE was overpriced, but if Boston’s shows were $20 cheaper I believe the prices here could have been cheaper,” said Trista Ouellette ‘28.
Mejia additionally revealed the culprit of the accelerated MainSTAGe concert date: the Easter Bunny. Held in the spring semester for the past two years, this year’s Easter Break is set to occur during the concert’s usual weekend; thus, after working with the Leo D. Mahoney Arena scheduler, the next best date provided was Nov. 2.
“We released a survey last year and listened to students’ needs [and] wants,” Mejia said. “The timing however was different this year due to limited availability within the arena. We hope to have more options next year for future MainSTAGe shows.”
Sophomore Taylor Kiggins said that while she thinks the concert was fairly priced, she is not sure many people even knew about it. Due to this fact, she did not see the sales working in FUSA’s favor.
Kiggins was not aware of this price disparity when she purchased her ticket yet she still had an enjoyable time at the show. “Knowing this now, I really don’t think MainSTAGe was overpriced,” she said. “I was able to sit front and center because I got there early enough and I turned to my friend and said, ‘This is the best $55 I’ve ever spent.’ I truly do believe that it was accurately priced considering she came to a small campus.”
Both Kiggins and Ouellette are unsure if knowing this information beforehand would have affected their ticket purchase. Initially, Ouellette thought the prices were reasonable.
Senior Grace Sarian contradicts Ouellette’s statement, however, claiming that the MainSTAGe concert was definitely overpriced. Still, she shared some understanding as to why sales were listed how they were. Sarian was also unaware of this disparity at the time of purchase, yet she still envisions herself buying a ticket regardless and detailed the undeniable fun she experienced with her friends.
“Of course I would have wished that Fairfield’s prices were lower, I do think that they were overpriced, but you also have to consider the ease of having her come to our campus and not having to worry about transportation costs, parking, [etcetera],” she said. “I am curious what other prices of her performances are around the country, and I am honestly shocked that [general admission] tickets in Boston for her are that cheap.”
Senior Jacob Engren agreed that the show was overpriced, especially for a school-sponsored event. “It appears to me that the prices have increased,” he said, “and if it’s a school-sponsored event I thought it would be a lot cheaper.”
Engren added that he also did not know about the concert until it happened.
November’s inaugural weekend was evidently not immune to student distractions, also hosting the anticipated Halloweekend and its corresponding festivities. This holiday tradition evoked another hindrance to student attendance, with many students instead enjoying their time at the beach. FUSA’s goal for this concert was rebuilding its reputation among students after last year’s failure.
“At the time that we were picking,” Aschenbrenner said, “[Larsson] was very, very on trend…she’s in our budget range, we could afford her…”. Aschenbrenner acknowledged that while the singer is not a widely-known name, she held a strong reputation of being a good performer.
FUSA works with a company through Boston Production who provides potential performers based on date and budget ranges. “It’s not like we can pick anybody,” Aschenbrenner said.
Mejia assured that the campus organization is committed to providing excellent entertainment opportunities for the student body and will continue that mission with future events. Furthermore, moving forward, the organization will continue to listen to students regarding events held exclusively for them.
“We do believe that the show was well received by those who went. Both acts put on an amazing performance and were amazing people to work with,” the FUSA President said. “We would consider the event a success and look forward to planning for next year’s MainSTAGe events.”
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