Monday, June 30, 2008
The intersection of Ninth and New Hampshire streets in downtown Lawrence has become a popular outdoor venue for the city.
It’s the location for the Downtown Film Festival, where movies are projected on a city parking garage during select summer evenings.
It’s where several events surrounding this month’s Ironman 70.3 Kansas festivities were held.
And, it was also home to the May 14 Wilco concert, which drew 2,000 to 3,000 fans downtown.
But that concert didn’t sit well with John Frick, who owns property at the northwest corner of the intersection. He had a bad experience.
“There were broken bottles, beer cans and drug paraphernalia all up and down the sidewalk,” Frick said. “There were some fights.”
Frick said he spent more than 2.5 hours picking up litter left on his property the night of the May 14 concert, and he’s upset the concert promoter didn’t take care of the mess.
“I think it’s naïve to think that (the party) doesn’t trickle across the street,” said Frick. “Clean up after the mess.”
But concert organizer Mike Logan, of Lawrence-based Pipeline Productions, said no complaints were registered with him.
“We didn’t have any complaints, and obviously we had our crew take care of things,” Logan said. “I only got compliments and thank-yous after the event for bringing Wilco to downtown.”
Jane Pennington, director of Downtown Lawrence Inc., said other downtown business owners seemed thrilled about the event. She said the concert was great for downtown merchants, and Pennington is hopeful Logan’s company will bring more concerts to the site.
“For some people there’s going to be some negative impact, but I think the promoters have done a tremendous job in minimizing the impact,” said Pennington. “They’ve been very responsible and have worked really hard to make it a positive experience for everybody, so that they will be welcomed back.”
While the promoter of the concert, Pipeline Productions, said it had no immediate plans for future concerts at the intersection, the idea has been raised in the past.
Frick, who wrote a letter to the city about his concerns, said he’s not opposed to having concerts downtown, just not across from his property.
“If they’re going to police the area and pick up afterward, I think it’s a good thing,” he said. “It’s just being a good neighbor to pick up after your party.”
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