Press release of the day: Does St. Paul owe the Pope $3.4 million?

by Jay Gabler •

What do Vatican splendors have to do with Minnesota history? For $3.42 million, everything. That’s the amount by which the local economy has benefited from the Minnesota History Center's show of Papal bricabrac, says Amanda Draxton of Risdall McKinney Public Relations.

arts orbit is a multisource blog about the local arts scene, featuring both original contributions by daily planet writers and entries reprinted from partner blogs and online publications. follow artsorbit on twitter and subscribe to the weekly arts newsletter for the latest scoop.

How did Risdall McKinney arrive at that figure? They started with a study by Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, which concluded that in fiscal year 2005, the average attendee at a St. Paul cultural event spent $22.83 beyond the price of admission. (That’s $10.39 on refreshments, $5.54 on souvenirs, $3.16 on transportation, $2.73 on overnight lodging—maybe if you drop Benedict’s name at the Kelly Inn, they’ll cut you a heavenly deal—and $1.01 on clothing, child care, and everything else.) Multiply that by 149,802.89 visitors to the MHS exhibit, and voila! It’s as if R. Kelly spent the entirety of his tour promoter’s settlement check on a Town Square shopping spree.

One could raise an eyebrow at the logic here—did all those visitors come to town purely to see the sceptres?—but when you’re dealing with the Holy See, you don’t ask questions. Especially in St. Paul.

Previous Press Releases of the Day: • The edge of Tomato • Nothing scandalous, just some booze and Jenga • Robots fish for prostates • The Rake Angel • Listening to dirt • Reindeer games at the Red Stag

Published on 12/1/08. Photo by Sharyn Morrow, Creative Commons.