Preliminary figures from the Newbo evolve festival delivered a shock to those with GO Cedar Rapids, the city’s convention and visitors bureau.

GO Cedar Rapids Board Chair John Myers said they had expected a maximum loss of $644,000, however the festival lost nearly four times that amount at $2.3 million.

Myers said he and others on the board were mislead by the top leaders of the organization.

"Evolve was a success from a programmatic standpoint,” he said, “From an operational and financial standpoint, we obviously can’t claim it was a success at all."

Myers said the organization’s CEO gave the board misleading reports.

"He presented a report to us that showed more sponsorship dollars were committed than there actually were,” he said.

Both GO Cedar Rapids’ CEO and Director of Community Events have been fired for for side-stepping financial fail-safes put in place.

"The board directed on several occasion that expenses be cut,” Myers said, “We are finding that even up until the last few days before the festival, there were expenses committed that should not have been."

Myers said paying back such a loss could take several years. This includes the $500,000 advance given to the organization by the City of Cedar Rapids.

"We will continue to deliver our core services and revenue generated over the next few years will be used to pay down the debts we owe,” Myers said.

GO Cedar Rapids will be forgoing their next two hotel-motel tax payments from Cedar Rapids in order to pay back the $500,000 from the city to ensure there is no loss of city or taxpayer dollars.

Currently, Myers has assumed day-to-day operational control while a search for a CEO in conducted.

Myers said the future of Newbo Evolve is uncertain at this time.

GO Cedar Rapids is a non-profit organization.