ESCANABA — The first-ever Northern Lights Music Fest is officially in the books, thanks in part due to an unusual source of last-minute financial support, the Delta County Board of Commissioners, which approved a $250,000 loan from the county to Visit Escanaba to support the event.

“It was a pretty big lift, maybe biting off a little more than we can chew, but the community really pulled it off,” said Robert Micheau, executive director of Visit Escanaba of the festival.

While firm numbers have yet to be finalized, the total cost of bringing the two-day event featuring country music superstar Keith Urban to the U.P. State Fairgrounds was somewhere between $1.4 and $1.5 million — between $300,000 and $400,000 more than was budgeted for the event.

“When we started planning it was winter time and the promoter, the guy setting up the stage, didn’t know what it would entail as far as construction and all that, so we had to do major renovation on the track and on the infield to get the stage in there,” said Micheau.

Moving the stage to the center of the grandstand area required cutting a lane through the existing track used by the Escanaba Speedway, formerly known as the Upper Peninsula International Raceway or UPIR. A section of the concrete walls on the south side of the track was removed to create the lane and upgrades were made to the infield itself to create a stable and secure base for the stage.

Other unexpected costs came from contracts for services that were more expensive than anticipated.

The event also suffered from fewer sponsorships than initially projected, something Micheau attributes to the fact the event was new to the area.

“I think that’s just due to a new event and sponsors not knowing kind of what they were buying because they hadn’t seen it yet. So I think after we put this on and we’re able to show what the event is it will help us with sponsorships in the future,” said Micheau.

Festival revenues were also something of an unknown leading up to the concert. Ticket sales were slightly below the 70% capacity that was used as the break-even point in projections as of Wednesday, and there was no way of knowing how much money would be brought in during the event through things like parking, merchandise or beer sales. However, Micheau believed those during-event revenue sources could create a six-figure difference in the festival’s total cost.

With so many unknowns, Visit Escanaba came to the county to request the $250,000 loan to help offset the $300,000 to $400,000 overage in its budget for the event. The county declared the loan an emergency expense at its meeting on July 18, allowing for the board to deviate from its policy of holding two meetings before a financial expenditure.

“This is startup money. This is a new project for them. This is going to bring a lot of money and a lot of business into this area — not just for hotels, but for gas stations, restaurants, grocery stores, the whole shooting match,” said Commissioner Bob Petersen during the board of commissioner’s meeting.

The loan, which was approved unanimously by the county board, will be paid back by Visit Escanaba over a period of two years with 3% interest. The loan was described as “no risk” by Visit Escanaba and the county board because Visit Escanaba, as the area’s convention and visitors bureau, has guaranteed income under state law from assessments charged to hotels based on their room occupancy.