Note: Members of The
Prevention Council, the Partnership for Prevention, the Saratoga
County District Attorney's Office, the Saratoga Springs Police
Department and the Saratoga Springs City School District were
instrumental in reaching out to NYRA staff to learn more about
this event, sponsored by Southern Comfort, and to express
concerns about underage drinking.
By
DENNIS YUSKO,
Staff writer
Published by the Times Union
Friday, September
12, 2008
SARATOGA SPRINGS - There will be no mosh pit in the parking lot
of Saratoga Race Course this weekend after all.
The 2008 SoCo Music
Experience, a nationwide music festival featuring several youth
bands, has moved its local show scheduled for Saturday to the
Altamont Fairgrounds from the track because of logistical
concerns in Saratoga Springs, a New York Racing Association
official said.
In April, the whiskey
maker Southern Comfort and NYRA announced plans to host the free
music shows in the track's main parking lot along Union Avenue.
But after meeting with area political and business leaders, as
well as concert planners, NYRA decided to cancel the event
because of parking and crowd concerns, said Charlie Wheeler,
track facility manager.
Originally, the track
facility envisioned a crowd of 5,000-6,000 people. Southern
Comfort had said that up to three times that number attends the
festivals. That raised concerns that crowds without tickets
would gather at the track gates, and also not have places to
park, Wheeler said.
"The space and scale of
that would be totally different,'' he said. He added that horses
are still being kept at the track.
Scheduled to play at
the show on Saturday in Altamont are The Whigs, Severe Severe,
The Heartless Bastards, Disasters of Hollywood and more.
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