Concert Safety Inadequate

For the first time at a concert, I was worried.

The scary situation was on the last day of the three-day concert held at the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park in early August. Some 60,000 music fans were packed onto a field designed for polo ponies and mallet-wielding contestants to hear Dead & Company, an offshoot of the Grateful Dead.

It was reported that the crowd was so large that people near the front of the stage were “levitated,” whereby their feet could not touch the ground. According to an ABC-7 News report, many concert goers took to social media to complain about not being able to catch their breath due to the crushing crowd.

The Polo Field had no walkways to cross the field in any direction. People were weaving and dodging each other in creative ways just to get around. It was difficult, if not impossible, to put down a blanket.

If there were an incident where the audience got “spooked” and panicked, there could have been casualties.

Further complicating matters, there were only two main entrances/exits; one at 30th Avenue and Lincoln Way and another 32nd Avenue and Fulton Street. John F. Kennedy Drive west of Transverse Drive was closed to the public. (There was also a smaller entrance/exit for V.I.P. ticket holders on the northwest corner of the venue.)

The planners for the event were so concerned about getting such a large crowd onto the Polo Field at only two locations – and with as little hassle as possible – that security was lax. I went through medal detectors with my phone, belt, keys, coins, glasses, etc., without even a “beep.” Waved right through.

Once inside, there were dozens of booths for merchants constructed in a huge C-shape on the eastern end of the Polo Field, effectively boxing in the massive crowd. I was so far back (at light pole 5) that I never saw the stage or any of the performers. And there were thousands of people farther back than me. A friend tried to get close to the stage for a peek at the performers but returned distraught because it was impossible to penetrate the crowd.

Unfortunately, disaster did strike for one man at the concert.

Fred Cothard, 54, a resident of Michigan, was dancing when he collapsed at the third Dead & Company show. He died at a local hospital a couple of hours later.

According to the SF Fire Department, city EMTs and paramedics were not utilized at the three music festivals in Golden Gate Park. Another Planet Entertainment is responsible for hiring an ambulance service, which in turn hires emergency responders.

Tickets for the Dead & Company show started at $245 for a single-day concert or $635 for all three nights.

Another Planet Expands Festival

Another Planet Entertainment produced The Dead & Company, Outside Lands and Zach Bryan concerts. The corporation was founded by former Bill Graham Presents’ executives Greg Perloff, Sherry Wasserman and Steve Welkom.

Outside Lands is one of the largest music festival in the United States, behind Coachella in Southern California and Lollapalooza in Chicago. It encompasses the Polo Field, Lindley Meadow, Hellman Hollow and some surrounding areas.

According to Wikipedia, the Outside Lands Music and Art Festival started in 2008 with a sold-out audience of 130,000 over the three-day concert (43,333 per day). By 2011 the number of attendees was 180,000, which increased to 200,000 the next year. In 2015, attendance jumped again to 210,000 and in 2022 it rose to its current level of 225,000 over the course of three days (75,000 per day).

Who’s in Charge?

It is amazing to me that SF Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg, with the blessing of the SF Recreation and Park Commission, constantly green lights concert growth even though it has evolved into a dangerous situation, and an unpleasant experience for many concert goers.

Another Planet and Rec. and Park’s first priority should be to protect the public in a worst-case scenario – and that requires proper planning. The well-being of our residents depends on Another Planet and the Rec. and Park Department not taking liberties with the safety of our residents and guests.

When Another Planet returns next year for the Outside Lands Festival, I hope there will be a better thought-out plan, perhaps with a reduction in the number of people jammed onto the Polo and surrounding fields. It should also include more entrances and exits to the venue and a way for the audience and emergency responders to circulate. There could also be more rigorous screening for weapons.

To facilitate necessary changes, the SF Board of Supervisors should hold a hearing to discuss, learn and mitigate important safety issues that were raised by the concerts held at the western end of Golden Gate Park in August. It does not appear Ginsburg nor the members of the Recreation and Park Commission are up to the task.

Paul Kozakiewicz is the former publisher and a current editor of the Richmond Review and Sunset Beacon newspapers.