Denton Parks and Recreation officials told the City Council on Feb. 18 that the city's pilot "31 Days of Halloween" program in October 2024 attracted an estimated 662,000 visits downtown, produced about $210,000 in sales-tax revenue the city can reasonably trace to the event, and cost the city roughly $166,000 to operate.

Gary Pack, the city's director of Parks and Recreation, described the monthlong program as a joint effort of city staff, local businesses, volunteers and artists. "If it wasn't for staff to really get this going, it wouldn't have happened to the level that it did," Pack said. He told council the city staged 31 core activities, curated 15 immersive locations downtown and worked with local partners including the University of North Texas and volunteers who contributed thousands of hours.

City staff said their analysis attributes about $210,000 in sales-tax and mixed-beverage tax revenue to Halloween-related activity, which staff said equates to roughly $16 million in sales at local retailers and food-and-beverage businesses. Jessica (last name not specified), representing the finance team, told council the estimate was conservative and based on CityBase sales-tax lookups. That estimate, staff said, came from a city finance comparison of October 2024 sales with prior Octobers.

Why it matters: Council members asked whether the event covered its own costs and how to make it sustainable. Staff said they will seek cost recovery and additional outside funding for future years, including a request to the city's Community Partnership funding process, new sponsorship packages and possible state recognition.

What staff presented and next steps

- Economic results: Pack said downtown saw 662,000 visits in October 2024, roughly 145,000 more than October 2023. The city collected about $210,000 in sales- and alcohol-related tax revenue tied to Halloween activity, and staff counted about $166,000 in direct operational expenses for the month-long pilot.

- Attendance and origin: Pack said marketing indicated about 60% of visitors were nonresidents; Dustin (marketing staff) told council roughly 12% were from out of state in their sample. Staff also said the program generated attention from outside the region and was promoted via Discover Denton, billboards and radio.

- Program elements: Highlights included public-art installations (140 decorated chairs), themed attractions ("Scary Cherry Orchard"), a volunteer "Boo Team," and partnerships with local businesses such as Denton County Brewing.

- Goals and funding for 2025: Christine (staff) said the next steps are (1) evaluate existing funding for the program, (2) request Community Partnership funds to support the program, (3) finalize sponsorship packages to offset costs, and (4) improve pedestrian wayfinding and traffic dispersion downtown. Staff said they want the program to be cost-neutral to the city (cost recovery) and to scale by using private sponsorship and hotel packages.

- Possible state recognition and scale: Staff told council they are exploring a state designation for the event and want to shift from a calendar of many small events to stronger weekend experiences that encourage multi-night stays.

Council reaction and follow-up

Council members praised staff for the pilot and asked for more detailed tracking on hotel stays and visitor origin, stronger outreach to outlying downtown corridors and a clearer plan for parking and traffic dispersal. Staff said they will provide follow-up reports on (1) more detailed hotel-occupancy data, (2) refined economic impact measurement methods, and (3) draft sponsorship and cost-recovery plans for council consideration in the budget process.

Staff cautioned their sales-tax estimate is conservative and based on sales patterns identified by the finance team; Pack said the $210,000 figure should be considered a lower-bound estimate and that improved tracking could raise that number.

Ending: Staff asked council to support continued investment and directed staff to pursue community partnership funding and sponsorships as they develop the plan for 2025. Councilmembers agreed staff should return with more complete tracking on visitor origin, hotel use and proposed sponsor packages.