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Sunderland's Masterplan For Happy Oasis Fans












Oasis fans should arrive early for tomorrow's concert to avoid long queues and delays.

Organisers of the concert were speaking to the Echo as they celebrated the success of Take That's two weekend gigs.

The last two concerts took place on Friday and Saturday nights – but with Oasis playing mid-week, organisers are concerned there may be a surge of numbers after work hours.

The weekend's events were the first concerts of such a size the stadium has hosted – but if tomorrow goes as well, they almost certainly will not be the last.

"The weekend went very well," said SAFC's Gary Hutchinson.

"The band were happy, the promoter was happy – this is the first major concert we have had at the stadium and the promoter said it was head and shoulders above some of the places they have dealt with.

"I think we have made a mark in the sand now, shown that we can do it.
If it works tomorrow, we will certainly look at doing it again."

The gigs had been a completely new experience, added Gary.

"It's very, very, very different from match days," he said. "We're encouraging 20,000 people to go on to the pitch, rather than trying to keep them off it."

Club bosses have worked closely with other organisations, including the Tyne and Wear Metro and the city council, to make sure the events have gone as smoothly as possible.

Ken Scott has been involved with the organisation on behalf of the council.

"We have had nine months of planning this and to see 100,000 people leaving with smiles from ear to ear makes it all worthwhile," he said.

He had been delighted with the attitude of fans forced to wait as 50,000 people a night left the ground.

It is hard to put an exact figure on what the concerts will have been worth to both club and city. Every hotel and boarding house in the city centre and on the seafront were reportedly fully booked.

The stadium's drinks and food outlets took seven times as much as they would on a match day during the first two concerts, so the financial benefit to the Wearside economy is clear.

Concert-goers holding general admission (GA) tickets tomorrow will be able to access the stadium courtyard, complete with music and entertainment, from 1.30pm.

Turnstiles will open for access to the ground at 3.30pm, when full bar and catering facilities will be operating.

Support performances will start at 5.30pm, with Reverend and the Makers, followed by The Enemy and Kasabian before Oasis take to the stage.

SAFC head of safety and security Paul Weir, said: "Naturally, bringing 50,000 patrons into the stadium, the majority of whom are unfamiliar with the layout, provides us with a significant challenge.

"We would, therefore, ask fans to arrive as early as possible on Wednesday and to read the signage and listen to the instructions of the safety stewards around the ground."

Details are available on safcconcerts.com

Nexus to Roll With It

THE Metro carried up to 30,000 passengers to the Take That concerts at the Stadium of Light.

Operator Nexus is now gearing up for another busy evening tomorrow, when Oasis perform in the city.

A bus park and ride service will also be in operation. It will cost £5 per car and will run from Fulwell Quarry to the stadium.

The buses will run from noon until 8pm and from 11pm until 12.30am.
Anyone travelling to the concert by Metro is advised to use either Stadium of Light or St Peter's stations.

Boarding will not be possible at Sunderland station after the concert is finished.

Long queues are expected, but Metro director Mick Carbro, said: "We will have staff there to ensure that the queue is kept moving as quickly as possible."

Source: www.sunderlandecho.com

Tickets are still available for a number shows on Oasis' largest-ever UK Stadium tour, click here for availability of tickets.

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