GEDDES, N.Y. - More than a quarter-million people attended Chevy Court concerts during the 2017 New York State Fair.
How did fair officials determine that figure? As it turns out, it's a bit of formulaic estimation.
Acting Fair Director Troy Waffner, Layout Manager Jim Crosby and a third fair employee, Mark Godlewski, count the attendance before every afternoon and evening Chevy Court concert.
The attendance figures for the afternoon Chevy Court shows are written in marker on Tower 6.
Crosby, who started working at the fair 51 years ago picking up garbage from midnight to noon, has been part of the concert attendance counting team for the last 10 years.
He starts the process from his perch in the white state police towers that flank Chevy Court.
For Thursday night's Hanson show, he started in the tower stage left, closest to the Center of Progress Building.
Then he moved to the tower on the other side, closest to the Colonnade--this side typically has more people, Crosby said--before walking through the crowd on his way to the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que/Gianelli building to gauge the attendance from the rear of Chevy Court.
Crosby has the greater Chevy Court area broken down into a grid, with an estimate of how many people could fit in each area, based on an allotment of one square yard per person. The exact figures used for each area differ every year, due to layout changes.
The attendance figures for the evening Chevy Court concerts are written on the railing of Tower 6, near the Center of Progress Building.
The seating area is the easiest. There are seats for 2,700 people--though Crosby said if the crowd is mostly standing, that could add an additional 500 to 800 people, since a standing crowd tends to pack in tighter.
The grassy areas directly to either side of the seats? 1,700 people each. The courtyard by the Chevy Court Pavilion and Dinosaur stand can hold up to 9,250 people.
The paved areas in front of the Center of Progress Building can hold 3,850 people, plus an additional 240 people at the Suds Factory Courtside Grill patio. Across the way, the paved area between the Dairy Products and Science & Industry buildings can hold an estimated 4,600 people.
By estimating the crowd in each section as a percentage of the maximum capacity figure, the final number is likely accurate within five percent, Waffner said.
When they decide to count the attendance is a bit of an art. For an 8 p.m. show, they'll start counting anywhere from 8:15 to 8:45 p.m. Crosby said that variation depends on whether he thinks the crowd will be arriving late or is, for the most part, there at the start of the show.
Crosby also accounts for other circumstances, such as traffic, that may force concert-goers to be late. He'll keep an eye on the main gate to see if fair-goers are still flocking in.
On average, it takes the crew about 20 to 25 minutes to count attendance. Once the show is over, the three men will meet to compare their figures and announce their average as the official figure.
Both Crosby and Waffner agreed that Chevy Court attendance has increased in recent years, especially following the implosion of the grandstand prior to the 2016 fair.
"This [Chevy Court] is the main stage now," Crosby said.
The most-attended Chevy Court concert so far in 2018 was Ludacris, who drew 31,500 people for his Aug. 24 show. The biggest Chevy Court concert ever was the Steve Miller Band in 2015, which was seen by an estimated 36,900 people.
Crosby estimated there were between 15,500 to 16,000 people at the Hanson concert, but he was evidently overruled. Official figure: 14,400.
"At the end of the day, it's an estimate."
2018 total estimate (as of Aug. 29): 118,905. (Note: No official attendance figure was recorded for Lil Yachty's rain-shortened Aug. 29 show)
2017 total estimate: 264,000
2016 total estimate: 265,450
2015 total estimate: 283,000
2014 total estimate: 175,600
Jacob Pucci finds the best in food, entertainment and culture across Upstate New York. Contact him at (315) 282-8611, or by