On Tuesday, the City of Denver released the negotiated terms for allowing festival organizer Superfly Productions, the promoter behind Outside Lands and Bonnaroo, two of the country’s larger music events, to hold a large-scale music festival at Overland Park, a city-owned golf course in Denver’s Ruby Hill neighborhood.
City officials and Superfly had been in talks for months, and now the contract goes to the City Council — which could vote as soon as Monday.
If the contract passes the council vote, the festival will be officially sanctioned, allowing Superfly to go forward with the event for at least the next five years.
With its fate still up in the air, here’s what we do and don’t know about the pending festival.
General questions
Is the festival actually going to happen? It’s hard to say. Some Denver City Council members, including Jolon Clark — whose south Denver district includes Overland Park Golf Course — have viewed the idea favorably. Others were waiting to see the contract’s details, which they’ll now review in depth before Monday’s meeting.
Councilman Paul Kashmann is among those who have said they want to ensure there are enough protections for neighbors and sufficient plans required to get to attendees to the site, keep parking away from the adjacent neighborhoods and address other potential issues.
The council will let supporters and opponents sound off during a one-hour public hearing at its 5:30 p.m. meeting on July 24. It could then vote to approve the contract — or hold off for another week if council members want more time to digest the agreement.
How many years would the festival be in Denver? The contract stipulates a five-year deal (ending in 2022), but that could change if the first year doesn’t go smoothly or there are breaches of the terms. The contract would be reevaluated after the term ends.
When would the festival take place? From noon to 10 p.m. on the second or third weekend (Friday through Sunday) of September 2018.
How big will it be? Organizers envision 30,000 to 40,000 attendees each day in the first year, with the crowd growing after that. The contract caps attendance at 80,000 a day.
How will you get to the festival? According to Grace López Ramírez, the community liaison for Denver’s Office of Special Events, organizers are planning on promoting this as a no-driving festival. Superfly would provide a free bike valet and a shuttle system to the festival from satellite parking — perhaps in central Denver — as well as a ride-share kiosk. The organizer also is talking to the Regional Transportation District about transit access for festival-goers.
Music
What bands will play the festival? The festival hasn’t been confirmed yet, so it’s too early to tell. Headlining acts for a festival of this size typically book shows a year out, according to Superfly co-founder Rick Farman, which would mean the organizers would likely know by September. But even then, for marketing purposes, they likely wouldn’t announce anything until closer to the festival’s date.
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http://theknow.denverpost.com/2017/07/18/everything-we-know-denver-music-festival-overland-park-2017/150742/
By Dylan Owens and Jon Murray, The Know July 18, 2017
[Thank you to Alex Teitz, http://www.femmusic.com, for contributing this article.]