A regular at rock concerts since the 1970s, Steve Chimielewski ranks “Welcome to Rockville” near the top of his list of the best concerts he’s ever seen.
Chimielewski, the longtime owner of Steve’s Downtown Music in DeLand, said of the estimated 170,000 fans who attended the four-day heavy metal festival at Daytona International Speedway last weekend. I was alone.
he raves about it.
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“It was just a lot of fun,” he said, adding that performances by Deftones, Coheed & Cambria, The Mars Volta and final night’s headliner Tool were highlights. “I went through it all the way through.”
This year’s attendance was a record total of 161,000, surpassing the all-time high of 161,000 set at Rockville’s Daytona Beach debut in 2021 after nearly a decade in Jacksonville.
Daytona Beach Hoteliers Are Big Rockville Fans
In Daytona Beach, the metal marathon was also a hit with hoteliers, who sold out rooms for the duration of the event at a healthy daily rate, said Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Volusia County Lodging and Hospitality Association. said Mr.
Scene from the scene:Welcome to Rockville, Day 2: Fest avoids clouds and plunges into Daytona weekend
At a time when several special events, including the infamous and now-relocated Daytona Track Meet, caused unwelcome mayhem for area businesses and residents, it was a profitable pleasure to be hosted by Rockville and its headbang fans. said Davis.
“They come for the music. They come to behave and have fun,” Davis said. “All the reports are great. This morning (Monday), I was driving along the A1A (state road) and the parking lot was full.”
Weather was a factor in Rockville’s success this year
This year’s Rockville was held with minimal weather disruption compared to the 2022 event, when a series of severe storms canceled the weekend’s performances by the festival’s two headliners.
Thursday’s opening day was delayed by about two hours due to rain, and three bands scheduled for early sets were cancelled. Other than that, everything went pretty much as planned.
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He said it was cloudy on Sunday, which made Cmielewski fun.
“I was talking to people who were there on Saturday and they said it was like a cloudless oven,” he said. “It seemed to be 10 degrees cooler on Sunday and there was a nice breeze.”
Summary of closing dates:Fans flock to Daytona for the final day of Rockville Fest.Promoter estimates crowd at 170,000
On the tourism front, favorable weather also contributed to the impact of the event at the 744-room Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, the region’s largest hotel, said general manager Jim Berkley.
“The weather made the difference. Compared to last year’s heavy rains and delays, we had great weather all weekend,” Barkley said. “Hilton sold out all four nights in Rockville at good prices, including Sunday night, but last year it was never sold out because we left early in the morning due to rain.”
News on Rockville’s 2024 return expected this summer
The same thing happened at a hotel near the speedway owned and operated by Ormond Beach-based Elite Hospitality, said president and CEO Manoj Bourra.
Elite hotels in this area include the Ormond Beach Best Western Castillo del Sol. Best Western Plus International Speedway. Hampton Inn by Hilton Daytona Speedway Airport; and Hilton Garden Inn at Daytona Beach International Airport.
“As expected, all three Daytona Speedway hotels performed well with higher ADRs[average daily rates]and occupancy than last year,” Bourra said. “Speedway has done an excellent job of organizing this profitable event that continues to benefit the local economy by repurposing the track.”
Even on the beachside, the music festival has filled rooms at hotels owned and operated by Ormond Beach-based Premier Resorts & Management, said Domian Tux, vice president of operations.
Luxury facilities include the Hilton Garden Inn. Holiday Inn Hotels & Suites; Best Western Daytona Inn Seabreeze; All in Daytona Beach. The same goes for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Daytona Beach Shores.
“We’ve sold all the vacancies in our beachfront hotel,” said Tux. “Average daily room rates were slightly higher than last year, making this another successful event for our hotel portfolio.”
Rockville promoter Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents will soon announce details about the festival’s return to Speedway in 2024, chief marketing officer Teamy McCurry said.
“We will be announcing our 2024 dates this summer and hope to have the full line-up announced by the end of the year,” she said.
