GULF SHORES, Ala. – As a five-year agreement with Hangout Music Festival organizers winds up after the 2014 event, Gulf Shores is considering a study to gauge how much money is spent and where during the four-day event’s previous years.

Since 2010 the festival has successfully drawn in 35,000 people to the beach on the weekend before Memorial Day and the recently completed show was the fourth on the deal Gulf Shores signed with organizers.

“We’ve got one more year on that but even that wasn’t a guarantee,” Mayor Robert Craft said. “It was a commitment to consider an annual renewable permit that they have to get every year. And it allowed us to do some modifications.

“We’re at the point now where we understand the history of this event. Now let’s understand what that tells us about the future. I think it’s reasonable for us to approach it that way.”

The study will not only cover Gulf Shores, but the effect on economics for the entire region from the festival.

“That’s been a number we’ve been trying to wrap our hands around for some time,” Financial Director Cindy King said.

Craft and councilmembers were anxious to see the financials, but they also want to follow that up with a study on the type of crowds the festival is bringing to town.

“We are putting the community through a lot of discomfort to do this and to know what we are actually getting out of it as a city and as a region I think is important for us to know as we look at this thing going forward,” he said. “Is it worth what we are forcing the community to go through for this return?

“The assumption is we are building a new customer base. Let’s be sure we are building the right customer base.”

Councilman Jason Dyken said the results of customer study combined with the economic impact study will affect how he votes when it comes time to OK another permit for the festival.

“Who were the ticket purchasers and what the demographics are of the people who come here,” Dyken said. “That is another additional component other than the economic impact that is information we have requested and should have at our disposal when we make the decision to move forward or not move forward with this event.”

Councilman Joe Garris said he liked the idea of the economic study, but he, too, would like to see more collecting of information on other aspects of the festival.

“I think it’s very important that we look at this because it’s coming up on five years for the deal and we’re approaching that pretty quick,” Garris said.

The council will vote on whether to hire Semoon Chang, a former professor at South Alabama, to conduct the study for about $9,000. An alternate bid from Keivan Deravi from Auburn for $12,500 is also being considered.

“He has a reputation for doing economic impact analysis in the local region,” King said of Chang. “As a matter fact Nissa Miranda of the University of Alabama said she would recommend him. She said she would do it if she had time, but she’s tied up with other analyses in our area mainly with sports events and the birding activity.”

Craft said Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism used Chang in the past, but switched to Deravi and he wanted to find out the reasons for the change before moving forward. He said he planned to talk with Herb Malone, the president and CEO of the tourism group, before making his decision.

“I want to clarify in my mind why they used Deravi and if there’s a significant difference reason why,” Craft said. “I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with what Semoon has done in the past, but I want to know why they’ve changed. If has anything to share, we’ll discuss that before we vote next week.”