A concert promoter in Anchorage is refunding more than 1,000 Dwight Yoakam tickets for a show that was supposed to happen this weekend. The concert was scheduled for June 25 in the Alaska Dome. But the city says the inflatable structure, designed for large sporting events, can’t safely handle a music show. Bob Winn is general manager of Blues Central and was organizing the Blue Jeans on the Green event. He says it was a huge disappointment to get the news last week that the city fire code wouldn’t allow it to proceed in the Alaska Dome
The managers of the Alaska Dome thought their occupancy permit allowed for non-sporting events. James Gray is acting fire marshal for Anchorage. He says the city didn’t feel they could put anything in place to allow the concert to safely take place in the dome. He says music events and sporting events are very different:
Winn says he wants to reschedule the concert for another facility on a different date. Blues Central is offering full refunds to anyone who purchased tickets. Winn says he’s lost tens of thousands of dollars on the event.
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Annie Feidt is the Managing Editor for Alaska's Energy Desk, a collaboration between Alaska Public Media in Anchorage, KTOO Public Media in Juneau and KUCB in Unalaska. Her reporting has taken her searching for polar bears on the Chukchi Sea ice, out to remote checkpoints on the Iditarod Trail, and up on the Eklutna Glacier with scientists studying its retreat. Her stories have been heard nationally on NPR and Marketplace.
Annie’s career in radio journalism began in 1998 at Minnesota Public Radio, where she produced the regional edition of All Things Considered. She moved to Anchorage in 2004 with her husband, intending to stay in the 49th state just a few years. She has no plans to leave anytime soon.
afeidt (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8443 | About Annie
