Charlottetown council flip-flops on Peas concert venue

The success of the weekend's Barenaked Ladies concert at the Charlottetown Driving Park has led city council to change its mind and endorse the site as a venue for the Black Eyed Peas on Labour Day.

'We always do have some concerns of protecting the welfare of the racetrack.' Jeremy Pierce

Council voted Monday to endorse holding the concert at the CDP.

"When I went to the site you just see it in a totally different light," Coun. Kim Devine told CBC News Monday. Devine was at the concert Sunday, and was one of the councillors who changed her mind.

"There were about 4,000 people there and only about a quarter of the site was occupied. So when you go and you see it with your own eyes and you walk through you say, yeah, this can work."

The general manager of Harness Racing P.E.I. is calling the Barenaked Ladies concert an overall success.

"The track came out very well and the centre field as well. The organizing committee did a great job of protecting our assets and we're very pleased with the concert," Jeremy Pierce told CBC News Monday.

"I think any time you have an opportunity to showcase your facility and use your assets, I fully expect we'd always welcome those, but we always do have some concerns of protecting the welfare of the racetrack and of the centre field and the facility as a whole."

Racehorse owners were concerned about damage to the track from people crossing it to get to the concert site. The concert came just before the biggest race week of the year. Trials for the Gold Cup and Saucer get underway this weekend.

Safety was a concern

Last week, council voted against using the CDP for the concert. The mayor said he was concerned about safety issues with having 20,000 people at the park. The Barenaked Ladies attracted 4,000 to the venue.

The Black Eyed Peas concert doesn't require council's approval.CDP is zoned for such events, but the show's promoter told CBC he's pleased with the decision all the same. He said a formal announcement on the site will be made in a day or two.

The show was originally planned for Alexandra, just east of Charlottetown, but some residents complained their 300-member community could not handle a concert of that size.

Summerside and Moncton have come forward with offers to host the show should Charlottetown be unable to find a venue.