The first-ever concert at Sanford Stadium went off without a hitch.
University of Georgia assistant athletic director Josh Brooks, who organized the Night Train concert, headlined by Jason Aldean, said there were no major problems with traffic or parking.
“Traffic is always bad, but I heard good things about traffic, good things about parking, from patrons,” Brooks said.
He was “optimistic” that Sanford Stadium’s field wasn’t damaged by the concert.
“We’ll see how it bounces back in a couple of weeks, but right now it looks good,” he said.
Sixty-six thousand tickets were sold for the concert; Brooks did not have figures on how many people actually attended or how many came into town.
Kathryn Lookofsky, executive director of the Athens Downtown Development Authority, said she’s heard nothing but positive reports from businesses.
“The bars and restaurants had a gangbusters weekend,” she said.
Athens-Clarke and UGA police reported a few crimes, mainly run-of-the-mill incidents typical of a Saturday night in Athens:
• A vehicle hit a barricade on Cloverhurst Avenue Saturday morning and drove away.
• A man was taken to a hospital by ambulance at 6:55 p.m. due to “extreme intoxication.”
• During the concert, a man and a woman were scratched and bit, another woman was scratched and a third woman was punched, all by unknown individuals.
• Charcoal started a brush fire on D.W. Brooks Drive at 2:15 a.m. Sunday.
• A driver hurt his leg in an accident on Broad Street.
• A 20-year-old man had his wallet (with two Aldean tickets inside) stolen by three men who bumped into him downtown early Saturday morning.
• A woman asked another woman for help on Clayton Street, saying she had twisted her ankle, then slammed the good Samaritan to the ground and, along with two other people, kicked her and took her purse.
• A man punched a woman at Intown Suites on South Milledge Avenue.
• Two teenage boys who appeared drunk were arrested for urinating in the Classic Center parking deck.
Lookofsky had worried that country concertgoers would clash with Boybutante attendees at the 40 Watt, but her fears were unfounded.
“I was glad they played nice with the Boybutante crowd,” she said.
Will UGA do it again? That’s a decision that’s above Brooks’ pay grade, he said, and he’s so exhausted he doesn’t even want to entertain the thought. At least until he forgets how hard it was.
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