Editor:

The post-Outside Lands (OSL) concert may be fun for the privileged few who can afford the tickets, but for the residents of the Sunset and Richmond districts, the neighbors of Golden Gate Park, it’s no fun at all. Another week of noise, blocked roads, traffic, litter and disruption is added to the five weeks Another Planet Entertainment (APE) is already occupying our neighborhood.

The post-OSL concert permit should not have been approved in its current form. The recommendation to approve, by the Recreation and Park Commission has, at the least, the appearance of impropriety.

1. We need to know how many free tickets to the post-OSL concerts have been promised to the Rec. and Park Dept. In October, 2021 KQED reported that,

“According to a San Francisco Ethics Commission report released in late September 2021, city officials have been gifted at least $430,950 in free tickets to the festival.”

“Between 2015 and 2019 Rec. and Park distributed some 1,855 free tickets to public officials across the City, including department staffers and employees in other city departments.”

“A former commissioner and vice president, Allan Low, who stepped down in June of 2021, acknowledged that he had received free Outside Lands tickets in previous years.” 

How many free tickets to the post-OSL concerts have been promised to current Rec. and Park commissioners, all of whom voted to recommend approval of the permit with no questions asked? How many free tickets have been promised to London Breed? Are free tickets going to any supervisors? If yes, those supervisors should have recused themselves from this vote. 

2. How much money is APE making? Tickets to OSL cost a minimum of $200 a day with premium tickets going for $1,000 a day or more. 

Assuming the same prices and level of attendance as OSL (sold out) and 1,000 premium tickets sold each day out of the 65,000 tickets: 1,000 x $1,000 = $1 million.  64,000 x $200 = $12.8 ,million.  That’s $13.8 million per day.   For two days, that’s $27.6 million. APE is offering the City $1.4 million for two days. This is not a good deal. Why haven’t the terms of this ready-made APE deal been questioned? As APE keeps pointing out, there are no additional load in or load out expenses for the post-OSL concert, so yes, it’s a good deal for APE. No one has figured the expense of the public being locked out of the Polo Fields and adjacent areas and the inconvenience to the neighborhood into the deal. What price are you going to put on the loss of the use of GG Park?

3. Rec and Park  and APE are not telling the truth; 65,000 people creates as big a footprint and as big an impact on the neighborhood as 75,000 people.  It is not a smaller footprint.

From the time GG Park was created in 1870, to the time Outside Lands held its first festival, we never needed a private company to take over a large part of the park so they could make a lot of money and then kick back some to the City. Now, Rec. and Park says we need a post-OSL concert to maintain GG Park. San Franciscans have always been proud to support, maintain and pay for the park and we have consistently passed bond measures in support of our parks.

The proposed post-OSL concert is a cynical attempt by APE to recoup the $400,000 they spent on the concrete slab on the Polo Field. They want the concert in GG Park because it’s the cheapest venue for them. APE doesn’t care about GG Park or the neighborhood, or San Francisco for that matter  They just want to make money.  

The proposal for the post-OSL concert was heard by the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 12.  All supervisors voted yes, with the exception of Supervisor Connie Chan from District 1, who apparently, is the only supervisor who can’t be bought or intimidated by Rec. and Park in their quest to squeeze every dollar possible out of GG Park. Starting in 2024. there will be two or possibly three (if there is a Friday show) concerts on the weekend following OSL. The Polo Field and environs will be off-limits.

David Romano