Actual letter I just sent to SPAC. Please share and also join me next summer at Bethel! I attended several concerts at your venue this summer, as I have for many summers. I appreciate the beauty of the venue. I also have noticed upgrades that have made attending these concerts more enjoyable. I am particularly happy that screens have been added to the roof so that you are able to see the performance regardless of where you are on the lawn. I also like that there are now barricades to get you to your seats indoors on the lower level. The concessions inside the pavilion are a welcome change as well. I had tickets for lawn for most of the performances I attended this year. This brings me to my first point. Previously I had no issue getting seats somewhere inside the venue. Ive been able to get tickets 10 rows back from the stage, in the balcony, in the back of the pavilion. If I was going with a smaller group or on a date with my wife, inside tickets have never been an issue to obtain from a general onsale until recently. Im aware that bots exist and that they are used widely to obtain tickets.However, I think that this is only a small part of the problem. Your venue only has approximately 5,000 seats indoors with 20,000 available tickets for the lawn. Therefore competition for the covered seats is high. You also have to account for fan clubs, promotional tickets, corporate tickets, holds for the band, etc. I know how it works.I also know that it would be extremely easy for you to pass the buck to Live Nation on this one, since they are the ones leasing the venue from you to put on a concert.In the end, the venue is yours and you should have ultimate control of how your venue does ticketing. It would be great for the fans that genuinely want to see the bands,but dont feel like paying many times more than face value via a third party site to sit inside. I implore you to be advocates for the fans and pioneers in fighting ticket scalping from a general onsale level. The one concert that I did sit inside, I had to use my connections to get a pair of tickets inside the pavilion. I sat in row BB of section 12 for Jason Aldean. I understand that the fan base of various genres and artist can shift. What I experienced though was totally unacceptable. There were six seats next to my left. At one point during the headliners seat, the occupancy of these six seats grew to twelve. The occupants of these seats were all clearly over served and appeared to be questionably of age.I brought this to the attention of an usher twice. It wasnt until the second time I gave him the impression that I was a Patron of SPAC that anything actionable was done about the situation. The remedy was short lived, as the seats soon filled back up with the same overcrowding of people.One of the friends I attended this show with had told me just earlier that month,she was urinated on while watching the Luke Bryan concert on the lawn. Another male concert-goer apparently didnt feel the need to find the restroom before unzipping. The Dave Matthews Band concerts,which I have attended for 15 years at your venue, were no better. I understand that concerts will attract a variety of personalities.I dont feel that accepting over served (or those that over serve themselves prior to entering the venue, State Park Police or State Troopers dont enforce park policies or did this: nysparks/newsroom/press-releases/release.aspx?r=872 change?) people or those with a complete lack for social etiquette or blatant disregard for decency towards others should be something that anyone should have to do in order to enjoy live music.I am not against drinking at concerts. I enjoy it myself. I am against those in charge allowing others to become drunken messes. I have seen these very same artists at other venues such as Bethel Woods and Susquehana Bank Center in Camden,NJ. Not even in Camden, one of the most crime-ridden cities in America, was the crowd anywhere near as savage as what SPAC has been attracting in recent years. Quite the opposite, the crowds at these other venues were a pleasure to see a concert with. Honestly, mostly due the lack of availability of tickets inside during a general onsale, I was considering purchasing a membership to SPAC for next year. At least at the Sustaining level, but possibly higher. The experiences I have had at your venue this summer has not only helped me decide to not waste my money on that. But also to focus my ticket dollars on Bethel Woods. It is a beautiful, well planned, well run venue that attracts fans that are class acts. Sincerely, Joseph Mulheren
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 02:34:49 +0000
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