Posted on 10/04/2009 5:40:59 PM PDT by The Pack Knight
RALEIGH, N.C. — Not everyone who paid to see Irish rock band U2 perform at Carter-Finley Stadium got to see the Saturday night show due to traffic back-ups.
"We were really disappointed,” concertgoer Carrie White said.
White spent $250 on U2 360° tour tickets for her husband’s birthday. She said they were stuck in traffic for three hours, and were then told no parking was available.
"One of the state troopers told us, ‘Too late. All lots are full. Go home and see you next year,’” White said. The state Highway Patrol said the traffic congestion was not due to poor planning, but rather too many people trying to come to the concert all at once.
(Excerpt) Read more at wral.com ...
Most overrated band ever. Meh.
True! $250/tickie??? LOL! Idiots!
I don’t understand this.
Me either. How do you get a three hour back-up from a group of people going to a concert? Happens every day of the week with ballgames and concerts and stuff.
I agree, they should feel lucky.
Post Gazette Pavilion has a rather good traffic flow. Now, if you try to get to the concert 5 minutes before it starts, you mayt be SOL.
Wrst venue I ever went to was HersheyPark. Not bad getting in, but getting out....my friend and I literally had to pull out of the line of traffic, shut offf the motor and wait for the traffic to clear. Otherwise, we would have run out of gas.
“White said. The state Highway Patrol said the traffic congestion was not due to poor planning, but rather too many people trying to come to the concert all at once.”
So the cops in NC were surprised that everyone comeing to an event that starts at a particular time would tend to arrive near that time?
On the other hand why wouldn’t someone with tickets ignor the cop, find some place else to park and go see the event they paid for? Must be an Obama voter?
I’d rather see a U2 spy plane. What a sucky band.
Now they are copying themselves, consider themselves very “serious” and anything resembling music has been drained out years ago. The tank is empty but the car still runs on fumes and memories.
Cheaper to double park and get towed.
She could have fed 25 Africans for a month with that $500
IIRC, the season opener for the Carolina Hurricanes (Hockey) was next door at the RBC Center.
Talk about poor planning.
That would make as much sense as a NC State home football game against UNC, during the NC State Fair. Might as well bring a tent, ‘cuz you ain’t goin’ nowhere.
If the average vehicle entering the parking area for a football game holds 3.6 people, and the lot fills up, and the average vehicle entering the lot for a U2 concert holds 3.1 people, you have problems.
This shouldn't have been difficult to anticipate. Downtown stadiums make more sense. Though the average parking space might not be as close to the stadium, at least there will be an abundant supply.
LOL, I've lost track of the number of times that has happened.
Concur
“Might as well bring a tent, ‘cuz you ain’t goin’ nowhere.”
Reminds me of some traffic jams at Michigan International Speedway after a race.
After some races it has taken me 3 hours to get home (20 miles). By comparison, it normally takes me 3 1/2 hours to get home after the Brickyard 400 in Indy, some 200 miles away.
I’m just glad I didn’t get caught in the traffic last nite - had it been the night before I’d have been screwed. Hard to know who was stupider - people shelling out hundreds of $$$ to see a shlock band, or a govt. who was baffled when everyone showed up at the same time for a concert - like they said on WRAL - did they expect people to come in shifts?
Hockey game was Friday, U2 on Saturday. Its not like they haven’t put 60000 in that stadium before, and slightly less than that 6 Saturdays every fall. Sounds like a total FUBAR on behalf of our state’s finest. On the other hand I have seen too many people try and show up at 8pm for an 8pm concert, game, show, etc.
.
Supposedly people abandoned their cars on I40 and walked in.... Unbelievable...
I know. The Hurricanes (who play next door) were out of town and 60,000 is no more than a usual for an N.C. State game. There are a couple difference - there tends to be a lot of tailgating for N.C. State games, which staggers the arrivals, and most of the fans tend to know where they can park. The Highway Patrol had plenty of time to figure this out, though, and either manage the parking better or tell the promoter to warn the ticket-holders to show up earlier.
Traffic for N.C. State games tends to be a lot worse than for hockey games, where they get 18,000 in in less than an hour, easy. I was at the Hockey game Friday, which was a sellout, and certainly had no problem.
Still, N.C. State tends to sell out every home game for football, and some of those are on the same day as a Hurricanes or N.C. State basketball game, where they can’t lean on RBC Center parking as much.
Parked cars along I-40 (actually it’s Wade Avenue Extension) isn’t as uncommon as you might think. It was especially common before the RBC was built. Not sure how much anymore.
Back then (at least when I was in school in late ‘80s-early ‘90s), the police just tolerated it, because the owners would always come back. Don’t know if that’s true now.
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