On the Fourth of July, thousands will flock to Provo for the annual Stadium of Fire. Filled with fireworks and live entertainment, it is one of the biggest Independence Day celebrations in the country. The city of Logan’s own version of the event draws people from all over Cache Valley to Utah State University’s Romney Stadium.
For years, Logan city officials have had to juggle the costs of bringing quality entertainment to the event while working with a smaller budget. Recently, Logan’s Freedom Fire has been financially in the red. Attempts to avoid going over budget have so far been unsuccessful. Mayor Craig Petersen admitted that Logan’s Stadium of Fire may never break even.
“I think it’s just in the nature of the program. One of the things that happens is that a large number of people sit outside the stadium. So, they get the benefit of the fireworks but they don’t contribute to the cost of the program,” he said. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing because I think that’s a good family activity but we recognize that this is never going to be a break-even project. What we’re looking to do is to at least constrain the amount of subsidy that we put into it.”
Budget problems have not been the only issues surrounding the Freedom Fire in recent years. In 2014, the announcement that political commentator Glenn Beck would serve as the event’s keynote speaker caused some controversy.
Correction: the Logan event is called Freedom of Fire, not Stadium of Fire.
