Outside Lands wants to get even bigger

You aren’t alone if you’re one of the many people that didn’t have enough dough to see Jack White sing atop a tractor in the middle of a meadow at Outside Lands 2012.

Heck, maybe you’re like me, and cursed all your friends who were dumb enough to keep sending you Instagram pictures of Neil Young’s performance when you know you would’ve appreciated that performance more than they did.

Yes, I’m still mad about it.

Or maybe you just happened to be out-of-town that weekend and missed out on Hardly Strictly Bluegrass’s mid-August cousin during its fifth stint in Golden Gate Park.

But get this, music-festival-lovers. A new contract with the event’s organizer would not only keep the weekend fete-du-musique around for almost another decade, but it could make it even bigger.

That’s right. Bigger.

The Ex reports the Recreation and Parks Commission will be reviewing a contract extension for Another Planet Entertainment that would extend the festival’s tenure for another eight years and allow for upwards of 10,000 more attendees per day.

What drives this deal home? The City makes a boatload off Outside Lands. Serious cheddar. Which, in turn, is a big benefit for the city’s economy.

The Rec and Park department reports that they made $815,000 — with $1 from every ticket going to their department — in 2008, the festival’s birth year. In 2012, they netted more than $1.7 million.

Sure, having beer prices that exceed the cost of most concert t-shirts doesn’t hurt the revenue. But with the popularity of the festival growing every year, it’s easy to see why Outside Lands — which Another Planet CEO Gregg Perloff says is held “partially as a fund-raiser for Rec and Parks” — would have a long-standing tenure at Golden Gate Park.

And if that isn’t a jump, I don’t know what is.

The next contract would raise the department’s cut to $1.25 per ticket, with Another Planet flipping the bill for a full-time, $89,000-per-year gardener and an additional $15,000 a year to keep the venue areas maintained and repaired.

So the next question would be: Will an increase in attendees mean that concert amenities will be a bit less costly?

SFist thinks there should be another wine tent added to the grounds. #DoIt.

Personally, more reasonable ticket prices so I don’t miss the likes of Alabama Shakes or Stevie Wonder again would be fabulous.