Thousands of people who planned to camp during the three days of Phish concerts at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park over Labor Day weekend won’t be able to because of concerns about the pneumonic plague, event promoters announced Tuesday — about a week after public health officials made that decision.
Officials with the Tri-County Health Department and the Colorado Department of Public Health are still finding infected fleas and treating them in and around prairie dog burrows near the Commerce City venue, said Monte Deatrich, Tri-County Health Department environmental health manager.
“It was pretty much determined that we needed to not be careless and reckless in a way to keep people out of those areas,” Deatrich said Tuesday.
The agencies last week collectively agreed to have the concerts’ promoter and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, announce the decision, Deatrich said. Phish posted notice of the camping ban on its website Tuesday, the same day the promoter told The Denver Post that camping would not be allowed during the three-day concert series.
Health officials informed organizers that activities could continue on the grass fields and paved lots, as well as in the concert venue itself, but not on any dirt fields, including the dirt parking lots, said Don Strasburg, co-president and senior talent buyer at Denver-based AEG Presents Rocky Mountains.
Infected fleas and dead prairie dogs have been found in several dirt locations and open spaces in Commerce City.
Organizers have not designated an alternative camping site for Phish fans.
The venue was expecting between 2,000 and 3,000 campers each night, Strasburg said. He acknowledged the decision would be inconvenient for the campers but said the number affected is a small proportion of the 23,000 attendees the venue can hold.
Camping tickets, RV tickets and other service charges automatically will be refunded, and free off-site parking and shuttles at nearby locations will be finalized over the next week to make up for the loss of the dirt parking lots, Phish said in its statement.
“We will have overflow options available to make sure that it’s an easy and fluid experience for all attendees,” Strasburg said.
The band’s famous Shakedown Street — an area in the parking lots at Phish shows where fans sell souvenirs and food — will not be allowed. The area normally used by vendors at Dick’s is on a dirt road.
“They should be safe walking in and out of the venue,” Deatrich said of attendees. “They should stay out of the areas that are posted. As long as they stay on asphalt and go to the concert, they should have a good time and be safe.”
At a meeting of Commerce City’s City Council on Monday, Mayor Sean Ford said the closure could cause some additional work for the city, though he hopes it will go more smoothly than he’s expecting.
“We may be seeing an increased issue with camping throughout our community,” he said.
Those who can no longer camp at the venue may be looking to camp in city parks and open spaces, which is not allowed, so the police department and city staff are working on an enforcement plan, Ford added.
Other areas in Commerce City with plague-infected prairie dogs have been closed through Labor Day as health officials treat prairie dog holes with insecticide to kill fleas that could transmit the disease.
During the Commerce City council meeting, a Tri-County Health representative said the department is continuing to monitor areas, reapply insecticide on prairie dog burrows and check for updates weekly. The department has not seen any evidence of human illness from the plague and encourages pet owners to treat pets for fleas, keep them indoors or if they go outdoors, to remain on leashes away from affected areas.
Officials will rope off areas even further next week and will treat the burrows again in preparation for the concerts that are scheduled to begin Aug. 30, Deatrich said.
Fans say they have been disappointed by the developments but even more so about what they say has been a lack of communication, especially so close to the event when people have made travel plans and spent money to attend the concerts.
Dan Esterkin is flying to Colorado from Boston and meeting up with friends for the shows.
“The concert venue and the band and the promoters have been silent about it,” Esterkin said before Tuesday’s statements were released. “I don’t know if they were just hoping it would not be a problem by then or what.”
Phish fans are “very dedicated” and had been providing updates to one another on the concert’s status and camping via social media, but much of it has relied on rumors, Esterkin said.
A lot of the draw of Phish concerts is the whole experience with the venue and vendors, he said, so that’s a disappointment.
Although he wasn’t planning to camp, Esterkin spent money on airfare, an AirBnB and on concert tickets. Much of that is nonrefundable, so he empathizes with those who have to change their plans.
