930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: sonickteam2 on May 27, 2003, 04:16:00 pm
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Here, this is straight off of the Field Day messageboard, could still be a rumour however...looks like Radiohead is just a big fat jinx, and we should probably just kill them before someone innocent gets hurt !
Hello,
My name is Katie Thomas, and I'm a reporter for Newsday. I am writing a story for tomorrow about how Suffolk County has denied the mass gathering permit for the Field Day Festival. This means that unless the promoters challenge the decision in court, or unless the county changes its mind (a move one official said was "unlikely"), the concert is off.
I am looking for reaction from ticketholders. If you would be interested in being included in the story, please email me at katie.thomas@newsday.com. (Or simply reply to this post).
Thanks,
Katie
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sorry people, this is from newsday.com
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifielddaysuit0527,0,7953248.story?coll=ny%2Dhomepage%2Dright%2Darea (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifielddaysuit0527,0,7953248.story?coll=ny%2Dhomepage%2Dright%2Darea)
fucksticks.
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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifielddaysuit0527,0,7953248.story?coll=ny%2Dhomepage%2Dright%2Darea (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifielddaysuit0527,0,7953248.story?coll=ny%2Dhomepage%2Dright%2Darea)
Don't mess with the grasshopper sparrow...
<img src="http://www.newsday.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2003-05/7782262.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Originally posted by ggw:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifielddaysuit0527,0,7953248.story?coll=ny%2Dhomepage%2Dright%2Darea (http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lifielddaysuit0527,0,7953248.story?coll=ny%2Dhomepage%2Dright%2Darea)
Don't mess with the grasshopper sparrow...
<img src="http://www.newsday.com/media/thumbnails/photo/2003-05/7782262.jpg" alt=" - " />
I knew this concert was shady from Day One. gut feelings hurt the most when they are right,
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You know......it's kind of funny that this festival "might" get cancelled and, coincidentally, Blur has already missed all the US dates they were supposed to play.
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Oh, shit! I wonder how that will affect the mini Spiritualized tour? It seemed that they were only coming over for the Festival and added a couple NE area dates in while on this side of the pond. Let's hope they make the best of it and keep their scheduled dates.
Any insight Eddie, et al?
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These sort of things have a way of working themselves out, especially if the right people get their palms greased. I am going to wait and see how this works itself out this week. Obviously it would blow to not have it, and ruin what would have been a pretty good experience, but let's not throw in the towel quite yet.
Though, one has to wonder how organized these guys are if this sort of permit was left till the last minute. They probably figured it was a slam dunk.
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and why am I not a member anymore? Did i get downgraded? This new board sucks!
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Originally posted by redsock:
and why am I not a member anymore? Did i get downgraded? This new board sucks!
look again
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Originally posted by kosmo:
Originally posted by redsock:
and why am I not a member anymore? Did i get downgraded? This new board sucks!
look again [/b]
i would have sworn it said member for a brief moment... as why it's happening ask evilsatan
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The executive director of the festival posted to their site today.Apparently,they seem to think the problems can be worked out.
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A humorous piece on Pitchfork today related:
Field Day Festival in Jeopardy of Being Cancelled
But ticketholders agree: sparrow is $190 worth of cute
Kevin Keenan reports:
Put away that patchouli oil and shave those muhfuckin' pits, kiddos-- looks like the big party out on the island might not be happening after all. The Field Day Music Festival, originally scheduled for June 7-8 in Calverton, NY, and set to include the participation of Radiohead, Sigur Rós, Beck, Interpol, Blur, a bunch of other bands you might be mildly interested in, and, oh, the Beastie Boys, has run into some permit issues with Suffolk County.
According to a report in New York Newsday, the county has denied the event organizers a permit to hold the two-day concert/mass bonfire due to a lack of police manpower. Riverhead Police Chief David Hegermiller said his force wouldn't be able to handle the expected crowd of over 40,000 naked revelers, and that Suffolk County cops would be unable to assist, presumably because Woodstock '99 was waaaaay too much fucking work. And besides, they aren't sure they could reasonably be expected to endure Ben Lee's post-apocalyptic crooning.
But the Field Day Fest's troubles don't end there. Beyond this simple denial of permitage, those surely tonedeaf, no-rhythm-havin' earthfuckers at the Long Island Pine Barrens Society are reported to have filed suit, asserting that the town of Riverhead (incidentally, that is the greatest town name ever) did not complete a thorough environmental review before green-lighting the concert. According to Newsday, environmentalists say that the rare grasshopper sparrow has already got the place booked that day-- the concert apparently coincides with the bird's nesting season, in which it lays its eggs in the field.
Message boards were ablaze yesterday afternoon with such conciliatory commentary as, "What kind of jerk doesn't make sure that the grasshopper sparrow will not be annoyed prior to planning a concert? The Beastie Boys would have stopped the show immediately had they found out about the sparrows. They are turning their ethos from Tibet to birds that no one has heard of. They are on the cutting edge of super cool." The (ahem) "Boys" couldn't be reached for comment, but we trust that they feel bad about encroaching on the heretofore harmless winged creature's fertility cycle and may be prepared to post pro-sparrow MP3s on their website.
Whoa, whoa, now, you antsy sons of guns-- don't put away your coolers and tents just yet. Event organizers, who've spent a considerable amount of time and money (uh, okay, just money) on building a really radical website (uh, okay, it's hideous), aren't ready to throw in the proverbial towel just yet. Andrew Dreskin, the staunchly anti-sparrow Executive Producer of the Field Day Music Festival, posted a statement on the website to say that the announcement of the festival's demise is premature, and that organizers are continuing to work with Riverhead authorities to resolve the issue and keep the event alive and on schedule.
"Obviously we are disappointed by this decision," Dreskin typed, "but it appears to be based more on procedural issues than substantive problems. We believe we can resolve this issue quickly so that we can stage a festival that benefits the town, the county and a world wide audience that seeks to come to Calverton." Read: we've sic'd our team of high-paid attorneys on their asses, and in turn, they've hired some low-paid private investigators to snap Polaroids of the mayor in bed with a donkey... suffice to say, if you don't think this festival is going ahead as planned, you're already hitting the hookah.
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Thanks for posting that -- it's excellent! I almost bought tickets for Field Day, but was dissuaded by the horror stories of getting that far out on Long Island on a summer weekend. Now I'm so glad -- not only because of the cancellation, but god knows it will probably be raining. I'd rather see those bands at places like the 9:30 club anyhow (and I've seen the Beasties a bunch....).
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And for the New York Times take on the controversy, from today's paper:
May 28, 2003
L.I. Town Runs Into Trouble Courting Fame and Fortune
By ELISSA GOOTMAN
Ever since its economic linchpin, a Grumman aircraft plant, closed more than a decade ago, the town of Riverhead has been caught in a bind. It is too far from Manhattan to be a home to white-collar commuters. But for tourists who head to Long Island's East End for the summer, it is little more than a pit stop, albeit one with an outlet mall, on the way to the North Fork or the Hamptons.
This year, the town council decided to do something about that. In the hope of raising Riverhead's profile, attracting tourists and stimulating the economy, town leaders approved two major concerts, each of which is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to town-owned land where the Grumman plant once stood. The town would be paid $150,000 for each concert and would work with the promoters to arrange security, traffic control and the like.
Now the plans are running into snarls, less than two weeks before the first concert, a two-day festival called Field Day that is expected to draw more than 35,000 fans a day to hear performers like the Beastie Boys, Radiohead and Beck.
Yesterday, seven environmental organizations sued to block the concerts, which they said threatened public health and safety as well as the well-being of the nearby Pine Barrens, which are environmentally protected by state law. Suffolk County health officials also denied the promoter's application for a mass-gathering permit yesterday, on the ground that the town had not found enough officers to control traffic. There is still a chance the denial can be reversed.
Both the county and the state police have rejected the town's requests for their officers to work throughout the event to supplement the town's 74 uniformed members. The state and county officers would be paid by the promoters, but county officials said yesterday that the town's requests were too late.
Mass-gathering permits can be issued as late as 48 hours before an event. Field Day is scheduled for June 7 and 8, but concertgoers would start arriving on June 6. Bruce R. Williamson, chief of the county health department's bureau of public health protection, said a traffic plan had to be done sooner than usual.
"Here, the police situation has to be resolved in advance of that, so we avoid a situation where you have thousands of people showing up for an event they were unable to get the police for," Mr. Williamson said. "That would leave you with a large number of disgruntled people."
Asked how likely it was that the concert would go on, Mr. Williamson said, "It's possible that it could be done." Still, he said, the effort "appears to be problematic right now."
Andrew Dreskin, the executive producer of Field Day, said he believed there was still time to find enough traffic officers. Promoters and officials were exploring other options, he said, including hiring officers from other Long Island towns.
"I have every reason to believe that the concert will go on," he said.
The second concert, from Aug. 8 through Aug. 10, will feature Bob Dylan, the Dead and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
The environmentalists' lawsuit is scheduled to be heard in State Supreme Court in Riverhead on Friday.
Richard L. Amper Jr., executive director of the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, the lead plaintiff, said that although the large crowds might not threaten the site itself, they could harm the Pine Barrens and the nearby two-lane roads. "If you could parachute the concertgoers in and airlift them out on troop transports, maybe you could hold the concerts there," Mr. Amper said.
The barrens, he said, "can't be a conduit for 70,000 rock fans," and Suffolk residents "don't want to see it trashed like Woodstock."
One town councilwoman, Barbara A. Blass, said she was not certain she would have voted for the June concert had she known how difficult it would be. "It took me longer to plan for my wedding, and I was only expecting 150 people," she said.
The town supervisor, Robert F. Kozakiewicz, agreed that more time might have been useful. His chief complaint, he said, concerns the naysayers who have dismissed a plan that he still believes will help Riverhead's economy and enhance its reputation.
"What I'm regretting is that an effort to try and do something different, something that I think would have been very culturally diverse, something that brings exposure to the site, is being met with such stiff opposition," he said. "That's what I regret."
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If this does in fact happen, I wouldn't be worried about anything in the slightest. If this was HFS, with the carp bands they bring in and the slamming that occurs... I'd be worried. Maybe Beastie Boys on day two... maybe that is why no one seems to being choosing that day. Outside of a few substances... what can possibly go wrong? Traffic? Leaving Fedex on game days can't possibly be worse with no one guiding traffic. Get there early and enjoy. Just don't get punched or choose that day to have heart failure or anything. The politicians are watching too many coors lite commercials.
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Originally posted by myuman:
If this was HFS, with the carp bands they bring in and the slamming that occurs... I'd be worried.
I dont like carp bands either. Eels are definitely better.
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State Police Won't Help at Concert
by Katie Thomas
Staff Writer
June 3, 2003, 5:56 PM EDT
In one more defeat for promoters of a two-day rock concert scheduled for this weekend in Calverton, the New York State Police have informed the Suffolk County health department that it will not send troopers to help control crowds and traffic.
In a letter today to Robert Maimoni, a county health official, Lt. Col. James Schepperly of the state police said, "Our experience has been that several months' lead time is minimally necessary to develop comprehensive concert plans."
Riverhead Town's chief of police has said he would need about 200 extra officers to help his tiny force control the crowd of 50,000 expected over Saturday and Sunday. A lack of adequate law enforcement was the reason the Suffolk County health department denied a mass gathering permit for the concert last week. Two weeks ago, Suffolk County police declined to participate, citing concerns about the promoter's traffic plan and a lack of time to sign a deal with Riverhead town.
Bruce Williamson, chief of the health department's bureau of public health protection, said today the county was unlikely to reverse its decision on the permit. "I don't see anything that would provide a basis to change the decision," he said. "And the timing now is -- you know, the event is almost upon us."
The gates to the concert, which was to feature headliners such as the Beastie Boys and Radiohead, were scheduled to open at 3 p.m. Friday.
Gary Lewi, a spokesman for concert promoter Andrew Dreskin, said the news doesn't necessarily cancel the concert. "There are any number of different options that are available to us," he said, but declined to be more specific. Several other local law enforcement agencies have declined to help, citing either a lack of time or personnel.
The Riverhead Town Board is scheduled to vote tonight on whether to approve their own special events permit. Town officials declined to comment today, but yesterday Supervisor Robert Kozakiewicz said he would be hesitant to approve the permit if no law enforcement agencies had volunteered to help by the time the meeting starts at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, the Suffolk County police and health departments have scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning to discuss the Field Day concert.
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Rumours are that it might be moved to Giants Stadium. MAN i am glad i still went to Coachella!
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It has been moved to Giants Stadium and turned into a one day event. No word on which bands will be dropped. Also, you are required to buy all new tickets.
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Originally posted by ggw:
It has been moved to Giants Stadium and turned into a one day event. No word on which bands will be dropped. Also, you are required to buy all new tickets.
Where do you find out info? God bless I decided it was too much of a hassle to get out to the end of Long Island...but I have friends going.
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Originally posted by bags:
Originally posted by ggw:
It has been moved to Giants Stadium and turned into a one day event. No word on which bands will be dropped. Also, you are required to buy all new tickets.
Where do you find out info? God bless I decided it was too much of a hassle to get out to the end of Long Island...but I have friends going. [/b]
It's on the ticketmaster website
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Originally posted by ggw:
It has been moved to Giants Stadium and turned into a one day event. No word on which bands will be dropped. Also, you are required to buy all new tickets.
That's just too funny.
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Thanks -- the new venue information is not available *anywhere* else. Not Newsday, not Pollstar. Leave it to the 9:30 Club forum, a couple hundred miles away!!
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Just posted 4 minutes ago....
Concert Moved to Giant Stadium
By Katie Thomas, Mitchell Freedman and Glenn Gamboa, Newsday
June 4, 2003, 3:00 PM EDT
The Riverhead Town Supervisor Robert Kozakiewicz announced this morning that a two-day rock concert scheduled for this weekend in Calverton would not happen. According to Ticketmaster, the event has been scaled down and moved to Giants Stadium for a one-day show on Saturday.
"In the interest of the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Town of Riverhead and the public, I believe that the event should be cancelled," Kozakiewicz said in a prepared statement.
The new show will definitely include Radiohead and the Beastie Boys, though it is still not clear how many of the 35 other bands will be part of the 12-hour concert, according to Ticketmaster. Tickets for the show are set to go on sale at 5 p.m. through Ticketmaster.com.
Tickets for the Calverton show will not be honored at Giants Stadium. Calverton ticketholders who purchased their tickets with a credit card online or by phone will receive an automatic refund on their credit card, according to Ticketmaster. Those who purchased them in other ways must return their tickets at the point of purchase and get a refund separately.
The change of venue has not been confirmed by concert promoters or stadium officials.
Christopher Kent, a lawyer for the for the Field Day Festival promoters, said earlier in the day that a new location in the New York City metropolitan area for the concert was being sought and that a decision would be announced today. He said refunds will be given to ticket-holders who request them.
According to the Ticketmaster web site, tickets will go on sale at 5 p.m. today for a one-day event at Giants Stadium this Saturday. Concert promoters and stadium officials would not confirm the change in venue.
Stating that at a new venue the concert, which was to feature headline acts such as the Beastie Boys, Radiohead, and Beck, would be a "different type of event," Kent said that the Meadowlands Sports Complex in New Jersey was one site under consideration. He added that there would be no camping at the concert's new location.
Yesterday, the concert promoters filed suit in Federal District Court in Islip seeking a restraining order and injunction to prevent the town of Riverhead from canceling the event. Kent said the suit will be changed to seek monetary damages now that the concert has been called off at the Calverton site. He said initial estimates put the costs upwards of $3 million.
"We are still crunching the calculators," Kent said.
The concert was thrown into doubt last week when Suffolk County denied the promoter a mass gathering permit, citing a lack of adequate police protection. Two weeks ago, the Suffolk County police declined to participate in the event, citing a concern over the concert traffic plan and a lack of time for the county attorney to sign a contract with the town.
Since then, town officials and the event promoter scrambled to convince other law enforcement agencies to provide the approximately 200 additional officers need to control traffic and the expected crowd of 50,000.
Last night, facing a possible court injunction filed by Suffolk County, the town board voted to table a resolution on their own special events permit, effectively denying the application since another meeting is not scheduled for this week.
This morning, Kozakiewicz and other town board members blamed Suffolk County for the event's failure, saying the county police departmentn's failure to participate effectively killed the concert. "I really don't know what the politics were, but yes, I do think politics did play a role," Kozakiewicz said.
County officials have said Riverhead Town and the promoter approached the county too late to adequately plan the event.
In a letter sent Tuesday to Robert Maimoni, a county health official, Lt. Col. James Schepperly of the state police explained that "our experience has been that several months lead-time is minimally necessary to develop comprehensive concert plans." The state police were first approached in March, a town official said.
A lack of adequate law enforcement was the reason the Suffolk County health department denied a mass gathering permit for the concert last week. Two weeks ago, Suffolk County police declined to participate, citing concerns about the promoter's traffic plan and a lack of time for the county attorney to sign a deal with Riverhead town.
The Field Day concert was to occur at the former Grumman property, on part of the 2,900 acres of town-owned land that has been targeted for economic development. The town had hoped that this rock festival and another scheduled for August would put Riverhead on the map and lure future clients to the site.
Ashley Capps, one of the promoters of Bonnaroo NE, the August festival slated to last three days and feature acts including Bob Dylan, Tom Petty and The Dead, said he was keeping an eye on the Field Day developments but wasn't concerned about the impact it would have on his own event. "We've been going through our own process in our own way, and we feel like we've been working very hard to dot the i's and cross the t's," he said. "These are two very separate events."
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc.
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If you are on the yahoo board for Field Day, it is so sad to see these poor kids who post a message about getting a ride, or complaining about set times, all in between a bunch of pissed off people complaining about their money and threatening to sue someone. There are so many folks out there who just have no clue this is off. Sonick, you're on there right, gettin chewed out by some NY idiot. This truely has become an unfortunate. All of the excitement my friends and I had for going has deteriorated pretty quickly, even for this Giants stadium show. Mostly because no one has formely announced it yet.
I'm not dumb enough to think the promoters didn't fuck up, but I also know that local and county officials could have done a lot more to help it out, if they wanted to. I WISH i went to Coachella this year.
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Originally posted by redsock:
If you are on the yahoo board for Field Day, it is so sad to see these poor kids who post a message about getting a ride, or complaining about set times, all in between a bunch of pissed off people complaining about their money and threatening to sue someone. There are so many folks out there who just have no clue this is off. Sonick, you're on there right, gettin chewed out by some NY idiot. This truely has become an unfortunate. All of the excitement my friends and I had for going has deteriorated pretty quickly, even for this Giants stadium show. Mostly because no one has formely announced it yet.
I'm not dumb enough to think the promoters didn't fuck up, but I also know that local and county officials could have done a lot more to help it out, if they wanted to. I WISH i went to Coachella this year.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. Though I'm not going, I almost did and I have friends who planned on it. When this fest was announced, there was no way for fans to know that this wasn't another of the hundreds of big summer festivals, with a particularly good lineup. There have been *so* many go off without a hitch in recent years, that this is unexpected. And, I would say, especially disappointing for young fans who really had to make some things happen in order to get to the festival. At least my friends in DC are older professionals who are just out some money on flights to Islip.
It's really, really a shame.
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I don't know if I'm the only one, but I welcome the change of venue with open arms. It will be so much easier to get to and relax during the day. I wish they would have thought of this sooner, but Giants stadium is 1000 times better than some converted military airstrip in an inaccessible part of long island. My only concern would be of a security nature given the very close proximity to NYC and the lack of time to prepare.
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I agree, much better venue. MUCH better. I'd actually consider going if it were a few weeks away, rather than a few days.
The reason I never got tickets was that god forsaken long island hike on a summer weekend and the prospect of camping (?). Okay, I never would have camped, but the logistics did seem nightmarish. Now it's like a Jersey HFStival (but without the metro!).
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Originally posted by bags:
I agree, much better venue. MUCH better. I'd actually consider going if it were a few weeks away, rather than a few days.
The reason I never got tickets was that god forsaken long island hike on a summer weekend and the prospect of camping (?). Okay, I never would have camped, but the logistics did seem nightmarish. Now it's like a Jersey HFStival (but without the metro!).
I dunno...I think camping was a huge part of the appeal...I have some very bummed friends who were all set to drive and camp, and are now facing the prospect of a last-minute motel 6. Plus, the tickets are just up for grabs. That's all pretty lame...
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Originally posted by bags:
Now it's like a Jersey HFStival (but without the metro!).
You forgot to add without: audioslave, chevelle, good charlotte, godsmack, afi... and a host of other flash in the pan, gawd awful, poser bands. Instead we get Radiohead, Beck, Blur (still think they shafted HFS for good reason), and a host of other "reputable" bands. Other than that... I guess It's just like HFS.
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Originally posted by walkman:
I dunno...I think camping was a huge part of the appeal...I have some very bummed friends who were all set to drive and camp, and are now facing the prospect of a last-minute motel 6. Plus, the tickets are just up for grabs. That's all pretty lame...
Somehow it has gone from being somewhat-natural, out in the open, funky -to- stadium, industrial, corporate. With the camping, it had UK Fest flavour and now it's just another stadium concert fest. I guess the positive side is that it is still a good line-up and not sponsored by CC. (I hope you all have a great time!) I'm mainly worried that all of this wrangling doesn't bode well for the East Coast All Tomorrow's Parties.
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Originally posted by kurosawa-b/w:
Originally posted by walkman:
[qb]...doesn't bode well for the East Coast All Tomorrow's Parties. [/b]
hear hear.
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Well, at least Radiohead is doing right by their fans. It only applies to the tickets bought through their fan club but it's still really nice:
"All customers with original tickets (be they one day tickets or two day tickets with or without camping) will have tickets automatically transferred to the new venue, where they can be picked up on the day. For these customers please be aware that you should arrive as early as possible at the venue to collect your tickets to avoid delay. To help us out on the day please bring details of your original order and ID."
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Originally posted by kurosawa-b/w:
Well, at least Radiohead is doing right by their fans. It only applies to the tickets bought through their fan club but it's still really nice:
"All customers with original tickets (be they one day tickets or two day tickets with or without camping) will have tickets automatically transferred to the new venue, where they can be picked up on the day. For these customers please be aware that you should arrive as early as possible at the venue to collect your tickets to avoid delay. To help us out on the day please bring details of your original order and ID."
It's true, Radiohead's fansite tried to take care of their fans, but they fucked it up because they sent that email out two hours *after* the new tickets went on sale. So for a lot of their biggest east coast fans, they're now the only ones stuck with no refund on the Field Day tickets because they bought new tickets as soon as they went on sale.
I hope it gets worked out...(I think it might, but there has been a world of frustration in the meantime).
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Radiohead was unbelievable... there there opening the show was perfect. Underworld was next best act. Beck apparently slipped before going on stage and was taken to the hospital... what a "jack....".
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Originally posted by myuman:
Radiohead was unbelievable... there there opening the show was perfect. Underworld was next best act. Beck apparently slipped before going on stage and was taken to the hospital... what a "jack....".
I concur, Radiohead put on a flawless show on Saturday night. I had really been waiting 5 years for this, and i wasnt let down at all. They seemed to play a lot of new stuff, which all sounded WAY better than the bootleg copy of HTTT that i have. Thom was way more energetic and reactant to the crowd than i expected.
Beck is a jerk, and he fell, and never played, Thursday and Beth Orton were great too, as was Blur. I didnt expect them to play "Tender" at a big show like that.
it rained like HELL and my shoes are ruined i think :)
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oh, and if anyone went or cares to know. here is what Radiohead played on Saturday.
there there
2+2=5
national anthem
lucky
just
kid a
go to sleep
climbing up the walls
backdrifts
sail to the moon
sit down stand up
pyramid song
no surprises
i might be wrong
where i end + u begin
paranoid android
idioteque
everything in its right place
--------------
exit music
myxomatosis
talk show host
how
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Thanks for the reviews. Was the stadium full? I'm surprised Radiohead played a full set. That's very cool.
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Originally posted by Mobius:
Thanks for the reviews. Was the stadium full? I'm surprised Radiohead played a full set. That's very cool.
Attendance was estimated at around 20k.
Beck had his ribs broken by a stagehand (some say intentionally...)
And the concert kicked out a charity fundraiser.
Concert ousts charity fund-raiser
The Associated Press
6/7/2003, 4:59 p.m. ET
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) â?? A Maplewood charity scheduled to host a touch-football fund-raiser at Giants Stadium this weekend got bumped when the Field Day Music Festival, the mega-concert featuring Radiohead, Beck and the Beastie Boys, moved in.
The charity, Cerebral Palsy of North Jersey, has hosted its annual fund-raiser at the Meadowlands every year since 1986. The event involves hundreds of amateur football players who organize into 10-member teams, each paying $650 to participate. The charity raises as much as $60,000 from the two-day event.
This year, the charity didn't find out until Wednesday, just three days before its fund-raiser, that Field Day promoter AEG had landed
Giants Stadium as its new venue after the Long Island town of Calverton denied a permit for the show at a former aircraft plant.
"We knew we wanted to try and work with (AEG) and we knew we would have to try and reschedule this football event," Meadowlands spokesman Tim Hassett told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
"We were working with AEG, who is one of our big clients in terms of stadium and arena shows. They came to us and asked for help," Hassett said. "They were potentially looking at serious losses if they couldn't reschedule."
The charity, meanwhile, stands to lose upward of $50,000.
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which runs Giants Stadium and the Continental Airlines Arena next door, has offered to reschedule the fund-raiser the weekend of June 28-29.
David Bishop, director of development for the charity, said he is unsure whether players and volunteers can make it that weekend.
"We just want to make certain that everyone that's involved to help and support us doesn't wind up having a really bad experience from this," Bishop said.
Information from: The Star-Ledger
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so if only 20,000 showed up, they took a huge financial loss regardless...the organizers that is, not ticketwanker.
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But TicketBastards made out like bandits when you consider that their service charges are NOT refundable even though the original show was cancelled and then they made money on the resale of Saturday's show.
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20K my arse.... I would almost guarantee there were 20,000 on the field. Probably around 20k in the stands. Honestly here, 40K would be a very safe estimate. Remember, you are talking a 78,000 seat stadium that has an end stage. That makes 50,000 viewable seats. Upper level vacant = 30,000. Then a 75 yard by 80 yard field that was too full. Good thing it wasn't metallica. I would wonder however, how many people actually left half way through the day. I saw people soaking wet and shaking like no tomorrow at 2 pm. Of course security didn't allow any passes out. I know if I didn't gortex it I might have thought "radiohead and 95 bucks isn't enough to keep me".
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Originally posted by myuman:
20K my arse.... I would almost guarantee there were 20,000 on the field. Probably around 20k in the stands. Honestly here, 40K would be a very safe estimate. Remember, you are talking a 78,000 seat stadium that has an end stage. That makes 50,000 viewable seats. Upper level vacant = 30,000. Then a 75 yard by 80 yard field that was too full. Good thing it wasn't metallica. I would wonder however, how many people actually left half way through the day. I saw people soaking wet and shaking like no tomorrow at 2 pm. Of course security didn't allow any passes out. I know if I didn't gortex it I might have thought "radiohead and 95 bucks isn't enough to keep me".
The concert set-up only holds 55-60k. Anyway, I was just reporting what I read here. (http://www.velvetrope.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB1&Number=326627&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1) 20,000 seems to be the high end of the estimates.
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that field was in NO way too full. perhaps when Radiohead played it got crowded, but i made my move to the front with ease during the middle of the Beasties. who by the way , should hang it up. for real.
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Agree with Beastie boys.... where and exactly when did this psuedo act get a headlining spot at coachella and a prime spot at this festival (even though the festival itself fell apart in the last few days).... as with the field... I was about 10 feet off the rail up front. A fairly oblivious viewpoint.. but if their wasn't a lot of people on that field, then there was one unbelievable amount of distortion on those camera views (which I'm not totally discounting)... but the 20k figure for total turnout is a ridiculous understatement.
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dDidn't they (1) sell and (2) collect tickets at this event? A credible count should be *really* easy to come by..........
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Ideally... however, remember the wizards sold out every game for two years (with 100's if not 1000's of empty seats) and I've been at sold out caps games that are quite sparsely attended... so I don't know if this method is accurate.... oh yeah... remember the million man march?