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Germain of f icials: Concert bands to blame for traf f ic jams
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Officials from Germain Arena don’t anticipate the bumper-to-bumper traffic jam that occurred before an Elton John concert last fall, but fans attending the Def Leppard show this Sunday should arrive early if they’re worried about delays.
“The traffic problems for Elton John happened because everyone tried to come to the concert at the last minute,” said Craig Brush, the arena’s general manager. “There are a lot of good restaurants nearby so we advise people to come early and get a bite before the show.”
Def Leppard headlines Sunday’s concert, which also includes popular 1980s rock bands REO Speedwagon and Styx. The concert starts at 7 p.m.
About 6,000 ticket buyers are expected for the concert, fewer than the 8,200 fans who watched John perform Nov. 11.
Germain Arena hosts more than 100 events each year, of which 75 percent draw crowds of over 5,000, said Matt Blasy, director of events.
Traffic is heavier for rock concerts than it is for Florida Everblades games and other family-oriented events because fans usually arrive just two or three to a car, he said.
Before the Elton John concert, motorists sat in their cars for an hour or more when traffic on Corkscrew Road and Ben Hill Griffin Parkway came to a standstill.
Tempers flared, horns were honked and the sold-out show was delayed 15 minutes.
“We did take a lot of proactive steps for that show, like we do for all the big shows,” Blasy said. “We do what we can to make as many parking spots as possible available, but big events are big events.”
Employees are asked to park their cars off premises, which makes available as many as 250 additional parking spaces.
The arena hires 8 to 10 traffic officers to help with parking for most events and doubles that amount for large concerts, he said.
“We’ve tweaked some things but overall nothing major that’s going to get people in here a lot quicker,” Blasy said. “We can only do so much, supporting it with police, and they can only do so much if there’s nowhere for traffic to go.”
Unlike the Elton John show, the arena is not seating customers behind the stage for Def Leppard, Brush said, so even if the show sells out, the crowd will be much smaller than the Elton John concert.
“REO Speedwagon and Styx are popular, too, so I think the crowd might be more spread out arriving,” Blasy said.
One complication is the Sarasota Circus, which is performing at Miromar Outlets this weekend. Many fans who attend events at Germain park at the nearby mall.
But the circus performs at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Sunday, hours before the 7 p.m. start time for the concert.
“I really don’t think that will be a problem because the circus will just take Miromar parking spaces,” said Brush. “We will have enough parking at the arena.”
E-mail Pete Bishop at lpbishop@comcast.net
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geriatric tour!
#1 Posted by nealr on March 29, 2008 at 7:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Whatever. I'm 26 and enjoyed the show... and I have been to all kinds of shows from heavy rock/metal to hip-hop (which I regretted, was even more awful than I expected) and everything in between.
By the way, there were no traffic problems with the show. It did sell out, a little over 6000 tickets. It is such a small venue and it is kind of nice to be so close.
#2 Posted by jim09091 on March 31, 2008 at 11:27 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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