HRM approves two more concerts on North Commons
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Get ready for the Rolling Stones: Parts 2 and 3.
Regional council approved the use of the North Commons in Halifax as the site for two outdoor concerts this summer.
The dates can be revealed — Aug. 18 and Sept. 1 — but the bands can’t.
That’s because council approved keeping the identity of the acts secret until the ink is on the contracts.
At their regular meeting at city hall Tuesday night, regional council was asked to sign a memorandum of understanding with Events Halifax covering the use of the city centre park as a concert venue twice a year, maximum, for acts that can draw more than 40,000 fans.
Peter Bigelow, the city’s manager of real property planning, said council is responsible for common land and must balance its use as a concert venue for paying customers with that of a public park.
Council should ensure that hosting big concerts there is "the exception and not the rule," Mr. Bigelow said.
While council approved holding both concerts in the late summer to limit damage to the fields, Mr. Bigelow said turf covers could also be used to protect the grounds during such events, "so you can put that area back into play within three days."
After the Rolling Stones concert on the Commons last September, the fields were extensively damaged by the feet of 50,000 fans stomping and dancing in the rain.
A Commons legacy fund will be built into the contract so that the cost of the field recovery can be recouped.
While Coun. Sheila Fougere (Connaught-Quinpool) noted that she was the lone "naysayer" in the group when the Stones played last year, she said she was impressed with how much work staff did to bring the concert report forward.
"I cringe at the thought of two concerts on the Commons, but I can suck that up based on the fact that the issues that were brought forward have been addressed, and addressed well, in a balanced perspective that allows something for everyone."
To read that staff report about the concerts, go to
www.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/070306ca1115.pdf
(
apugsley@herald.ca)
HRM approves two more concerts on North Commons
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Right on! Interesting how they've scheduled them close together, I guess to just leave up a lot of the staging and whatnot, although I hope the rest of the area is open in the interim! I like the idea of turf covers, though last year's damage was a lot more than it would've been due to the torrential rain.
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