Wondering if you should add the Open Air Stage to your Springfield? Well before you hit that confirm button, lets break down the Pros and Cons of adding the stage to your Springfield.
Building Name: Open Air Stage
Donut Price: 160 Donuts
Dimensions: 8×8
Payout: Varies
Return on Investment: Varies
Much like Channel 6 and Cletus’s Farm the Open Air Stage does not regularly generate an income. Instead characters are required to put on a show in order to earn money. Here’s the break out of the tasks on Open Air Stage:
| Task | Time | Character | Investment | Reward |
| Lisa’s Sax Solo | 60m | Lisa | $25 | $145/30XP |
| Krusty Standup | 2hr | Krusty | $40 | $240/ 45XP |
| The Be Sharps | 3hr | Homer/Skinner Apu/Barney |
$175 | $1,055/245XP |
| Willie on the Pipes | 4hr | Willie | $60 | $350/ 80XP |
| The Skinner Sisters | 10hr | Skinner/Agnes | $230 | $1,385/ 300XP |
| Sideshow Opera | 16hr | Sideshow Mel | $165 | $990/ 220XP |
| Man Being Hit By Football: The Musical |
24hr | Moleman | $220 | $1,320/ 250XP |
Final: If you’re going to regularly use the building to complete the tasks it’s not a bad overall investment. However, if you’re tight on donuts you may want to save them for now and use them towards a building that earns an income without having to pull a character off of another task.
Wondering About Other Premium Items? Check out our Ultimate Premium Guide
i guess this list should be updated to add Lurleen’s country music and Old Man dropping pants, if not more. i can’t find the stage in any of the hidden purchase browser lists. is this item only available once in a while?
I believe that’s correct: it looks like it is only available in “The Vault” on a random basis, which is unique for each person. (It’s in my vault right now, with a 40 donut rebate — net cost of 120 donuts.)
Gabbo has a 1-hour task and Mooch Bart has a 4-hour task. Belle has a 12-hour task, as does Rockstar Maggie (cost is $150, payout is $800). Across the board, the profits are better than premium payout, so I think it’s a worthwhile purchase if you have donuts to spare.
Debated and read and debated and read some more
Finally went ahead a bought it.
Main reason: visible task versus unseen tasks
For me it is not all about the income a building or character earns (while nice and useful) main point of this game for me is entertainment. Thus, I place great value to a task if either outside (best usually) or the building gets animation.
Just my feel/opinion.
Can I still send Homer, Skinner, and Pay on the B-Sharps task, even if I don’t have Barney? If so, do just those three appear on stage?
Honestly, I have to look into this one. I’ve had Barney for a while so I really can’t test it out. This would be one for a file dig unless someone in the community knows…
Thanks – I’ll post this question to the open thread. I’m still agonizing over whether to get the steel mill, so I’ve been researching my other options. I get a big smile whenever I come across the B Sharps performing inn other people’s towns!
Can you see the characters doing these things?
Yes, they all perform on the stage 🙂
Anything that turns out premium income for non-premium characters should be taken advantage of as soon as you can. It caters to almost every schedule. Currently, I play almost hourly, I don’t know of any premium Lisa skins, so this 60hr task brings in extra dough on top of multipliers. Take Krusty too, for example, unless there’s a premium skin for him that has been released, the 2hr task here pays out more than his non premium 60min tasks, done twice! My only gripe is the lack of an 8hr task.
LTTP, I know, but wondering what peoples’ strategies are for the Open Air Stage. Both Skinner and Agnes are not premium characters so would this be a good way for them to make a premium income? Are they the most efficient performers for the stage?
In all honesty I don’t often use the Open Air Stage…but I do think that would be your best strategy with it. Anyone else have thoughts?
Depends on whether you have other premium buildings or not and how long you’ve been playing. Agnes can do a premium 16h job at Sprawlmart and Seymour has a premium 10h job at Up Up and Buffet, a 5h one at Swanky Fish and a 6h one at the Observatory! Willie, Apu and Homer have free full premium costumes (All-American Apu, Mr. Plow, Bare-Chested Willie), Barney, Sideshow Mel and Moleman are premium characters, anyway. Therefore, at this point in the game, this building IMHO doesn’t offer too much of a benefit justifying its price.
While the basic idea is nice and I enjoy seeing performances in other Springfields, 160 donuts to only upgrade certain tasks to premium is a very bad deal. If you play hourly 16 hours a day, then Lisa will give a return of 50 dollars per hour over freemium income (145-70-25=50 x 16 = 800 dollars per day) while Hans generates a mere 100 extra dollars per day (1320-1000-220=100 x 1 = 100). If you get tired of specially placing a character on this task (like I did with moonbounce), the building earns nothing. If you buy 4 police cars for 160 donuts, you have to do nothing and will probably earn more than 800 dollars a day plus extra xp points that count towards bonuts between levels. I am staying far away from this one.
Your logic may be unassailable, but I still look forward to someday have the B-Sharps performing in my town! (But first I’d have to get Barney, who is super expensive and whose other tasks grosses me out. I probably won’t get him until/unless there’s a Gil’s Deal for Barney and the Bowlarama.)