Successful Dead And Company Concert Opens Door To Future Events
July 19, 2016 | General, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — Even though he believed CU officials had considered virtually every angle possible, Colorado Associate Athletic Director Lance Carl admits he might have been a little nervous when the Dead and Company rolled into town in early July for two nights of shows at Folsom Field.
After all, it had been 15 years since Folsom — once a regular venue for some of the biggest names in music — had hosted a major concert.
City of Boulder officials, meanwhile, were hoping that months and months of preparation and planning would see the CU Athletic Department event produce what they needed to see most from the city's side: a low-impact weekend for all city constituents.
Now, just more than two weeks after the dust has cleared, it appears that nearly two years of planning and collaboration between the two entities yielded the desired result.
"Honestly? It went probably even better than we expected," Carl said. "When you are dealing with the unknown — not having a concert for over a decade and a half — you go in with some caution and trepidation. You plan for everything possible and hope you haven't overlooked anything.
"But when you look back at that 48-hour cycle, the energy that was brought to this stadium was something that we've received so much positive feedback on, we're very excited that we did it. We'd like to make this a tradition once again."
Music and Folsom Field were indeed once a closely intertwined tradition. From the late 1960s through the turn of the century, bands ranging from the Grateful Dead to the Rolling Stones to Fleetwood Mac to Paul McCartney played beneath the Flatirons.
But prior to the Dead and Company's July 2-3 appearance, the last major concert at Folsom was a 2001 show by the Dave Matthews Band.
It's why the latest show was preceded by more than 18 months of planning, with CU and Boulder officials meeting regularly to ensure that all concerns from every imaginable angle were addressed.
"There's always an interest to make sure we are diligent in looking after the interests of residential neighborhoods that are close to the CU campus and businesses that may be impacted as well," said City of Boulder Special Events Coordinator Mike Eubank. "During that collaboration with CU Athletics, we shared our concerns with CU that they do everything possible in letting the neighbors — both residential and business — know about what was being planned, and that they would have a voice. We were very pleased that CU Athletics met with the neighborhoods and vetted some of those concerns in advance."
In the end, Eubank said, that collaboration and preparation produced a smooth weekend, with two of the biggest concerns — traffic and noise — producing few complaints.
"It went well," Eubank said. "We didn't get calls about noise complaints or neighbors complaining about impacts, such as people parking in the neighborhoods. From our perspective, based on the feedback we received, it has led us to think we'll work again on similar opportunities."
In most regards, the Saturday-Sunday concerts were considered a success by local officials. While final data has yet to be compiled, anecdotal evidence suggests hotels and restaurants did stellar business over the weekend, and incidents involving law enforcement were minimal. The Daily Camera quoted CU police spokesman Scott Pribble as saying, "For the first time we've had a concert there in 15 years, we're very happy from a safety and security standpoint."
Planning the event — particularly in light of the fact that so much time had passed since the last concert — required what amounted to virtually a new blueprint. That meant CU's game day operations specialists Jason DePaepe and Steve Pizzi spending countless hours planning and organizing, while athletic department and campus administrators worked closely with city officials from the beginning.
"When it turns out as well as it did, it's definitely a relief, particularly when there's that factor of dealing with the unknown," Carl said. "One thing that happened from the beginning is that we worked hand-in-hand with the City of Boulder. I worked with Mike Eubank to make sure he could keep the City Council informed. We wanted to respect everything they do — their responsibilities and duties — from their perspective."
Not that the event was perfect. As Eubank noted, both CU and the city learned from the experience. Such things as pedestrian traffic flow plans and the number of trash receptacles necessary for such an event are areas that could be improved.
But, as Eubank noted, while CU is accustomed to dealing with large crowds for home football games, the Dead and Company crowd was not nearly as familiar with campus as football ticketholders. Also a challenge for the city was providing enough police department staffing because the event was held over a holiday weekend.
Overall, however, Eubank said the cooperation between the two entities was sound and the result was a successful weekend.
"The collaboration we've had with CU has been going on forever," Eubank said. "But in my opinion, over the last year, it's been outstanding. We had to engage a little more deeply and a little more specifically after we started planning for the GOP debate and the Dalai Lama visit that was rescheduled.
"If there's a true underlying message, I think it's that we're starting to truly collaborate and share valuable staff and resources to make sure the end result — no matter the event — is something that works for all of us."
Carl said CU is already in the process of studying the possibility of another event or two at Folsom next summer.
"Going back to late 1969, music became a huge part of the fabric of the Boulder community and Folsom Field was energized by the power of music," Carl said. "We'd love to do that on a yearly basis. We'll do our due diligence and research and work with all our partners on campus and in the city to make sure it works again. It's important to understand what the power of music does for people.
"We know Boulder is a music community. For whatever reason, it didn't happen here for 15 years, but under (Athletic Director) Rick George's leadership and Chancellor DiStefano's understanding and agreement, we were able to do it in 2016. It was great not only for the CU Athletic Department, but for the Boulder community as a whole."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu