Concert on the Square in the Wausau 400 block. Image courtesy: Wausau Events and Dave Kallaway Photography
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — The Wausau City Council has approved new event applications that reflect the new $1 per ticket fee for all events held in the city.
The fee was implemented as part of the 2025 budget to help bring new revenue to the city. Mayor Doug Diny says it’s designed to help offset expenses associated with securing large events. That includes new technology and the manpower required to implement it. “[There are] expenses involved with protecting events. We have new bollards, we [may need] new technology, we have added staff.”
Recent tragedies have shown what can happen when departments aren’t prepared to secure large public events. Both Diny and Police Chief Matthew Barnes want the department to have all the tools to prevent those worst-case scenarios from playing out in Wausau. “If you don’t know what the threat is, you can’t protect against it. So if we are not thinking about it and we do nothing, we may be caught flat-footed one day. It’s prudent that the Chief and I think about these things moving forward,” said Diny.
The new application discloses the fee and notes that it will apply to any ticket purchased or given away as part of a promotion. Organizers will be required to report their attendance and pay the fee within 30 days of their event. If the event was canceled or if police services were not required, the fee would still apply.
Finding new revenue streams was one of the challenges Diny issued to department heads during the 2025 budget process. Chief Barnes estimated the fee could bring in an extra $70,000 for the department each year. Diny says that doesn’t create a self-sustaining pool of money for event security, but it does help those events fund some of the costs.
“This is really to supplement the added costs that new technology and added security in the 21st century are demanding,” added Diny.
The fee applies to events including the Wisconsin Valley Fair and races.
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