Cincinnati weighs lifting festival seating ban

A lot of performers won't come because of the ban, a councilman said.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- City officials are considering whether to lift the 25-year ban on general admission seating imposed after some fans were crushed to death at a concert by the rock group The Who.
City council will vote this week on whether to allow general admission -- often known as festival seating -- as long as a concert promoter meets certain conditions and gets a permit from the fire chief.
"We're the only city in the top 50 cities for concert venues that has a ban, and a lot of performers apparently pass us by as a result," said Councilman David Pepper, who heads Council's law committee. The issue will go before Pepper's committee Tuesday, with the full council expected to make the final decision Wednesday.
The ban was imposed after 11 people died in the stampede at the Dec. 3, 1979 concert.
What happened
About 17,200 seats had been sold on a general admission basis for the concert at U.S. Bank Arena, then Riverfront Coliseum. The deaths and dozens of injuries occurred when fans rushed at closed doors during a late sound check because they thought the show had started.
The ban was temporarily lifted for a Bruce Springsteen concert in November 2002, and no problems resulted.
U.S. Bank Arena has expressed interest in lifting the ban, and police and fire officials said the proposal resulted from a comprehensive review of city laws pertaining to public assembly permits.
The proposed change would be based on standards created by the National Fire Protection Association, and an inspection would be required to ensure that all conditions were met before each concert.
"Obviously, we want to be very careful here and make sure we're doing it in the right way," Pepper said.
Limit on tickets
If the ban is lifted, there would be a limit on the number of tickets for the festival seating area based on the square footage of the concert location. Tickets would be sold before the day of the show, and all doors to the festival seating area would have to be opened two hours before the concert.
Ushers and security personnel would have to be in place before the doors were opened, and a written evacuation plan would be required. The proposal calls for all people in the area to wear wristbands.
The type of music that will be played and the expected age of the crowd would be considered.
"We know the tragic events of The Who concert were due to a number of factors, not just festival seating," police Lt. Col. Richard Janke said.
Paul Wertheimer, of Chicago-based Crowd Management Strategies, is in favor of the change if city officials make sure that it is properly implemented.
Wertheimer worked for Cincinnati in 1979 and wrote the task force report on crowd safety that recommended the festival-seating ban. He also served on a national committee that helped develop the national fire protection agency's criteria.
Wertheimer said the ban was the only option for Cincinnati at the time, but he said that lifting the ban now would be appropriate as long as it is done correctly.
"If it's done right, there will never be another situation like the one in 1979," he said.
Festival seating appeals to rock promoters because the most enthusiastic fans can get near the stage and help generate excitement for the rest of the crowd. Some performers and bands insist on a festival seating area near the stage.