MARTIN, Mich. (June 5, 2014)–Preparations for the 22nd B-93 Birthday Bash are underway in Allegan County, with an expected 120,000 people to show up by the end of the weekend at US-131 Motorsports Park.
Last year didn’t come without some headaches, though, especially when it came to the traffic with back-ups for miles on the highway that led to frustration among concert goers getting turned away.
But organizers say they have made some changes this year that will help that problem. Tim Feagan, the VP and General Manager of B-93 says they worked with public safety to come up with a plan. This year you can’t park unless you have a pass, and they won’t be selling them at the gate, only in advance.
“You cannot get in unless you park here, and you have to buy your parking pass in advance,” Feagan said. Last year organizers told us the actual amount of people that showed up with free entry tickets exceeded expectations. Redemption rates last year organizers say pushed 80 to 90% compared to the normal 50%.
“Knowing a finite number of people that should be showing because they bought parking passes we’re hoping is going to eliminate the long lines of people just hoping to get in,” said Captain Frank Baker with the Allegan County Sheriff’s Department. Baker says they will also have extra deputies on hand especially cracking down on drinking in the parking lot.
“One of the things we’ve noticed and experienced is large numbers of people that have no intent of entering the concert area, going there just to be able to enjoy from outside and have their own personal party with own friends. With that brought a lot of underage drinking,” he said.
A reminder that there will be zero tolerance for underage drinking.
“When we’re talking about the problems were talking about a small percentage of the people that are attending and we understand that and we know that. What we’re trying to do is make sure that the people that are following the rules have a great time and their time isn’t diminished as a result of somebody doing something they shouldn’t be,” Baker said.
For more information on tickets and parking passes: http://www.b93.com/pages/birthday-bash-22/
