Fans are demanding refunds from a Garth Brooks concert in Missouri because of gridlock traffic and parking issues.
Ticket holders spent hours stuck traffic on their way to Thunder Ridge Nature Arena. Upon arrival, thousands of attendees had to park in a fruit farm lot that only had two buses shuttling people.
The concert reportedly sold over 80,000 tickets and fans claimed that the venue could not handle the crowd.
#GarthBrooks wtf is happening after your concert!?! Thousands of fans trapped in parking lots for over 2 hours! Please help!
— Katie Sanderson (@the_kat_call) September 30, 2022
.@ThunderRidgeMO How do I get a refund for the @garthbrooks concert? Came from STL, sat in 2 21/2 hours of gridlock. There was Zero parking which lead to Hundreds of people walking the Unlit 2 lane highway full of traffic. It was beyond dangerous & unacceptable.
— Michelle Steeg LPC, NCC she/her (@Msteeg22) October 1, 2022
I’m aware this is first world probs, but this has been the absolute most disappointing experience. Left our hotel 14 miles away at 4:30 and just walked into the venue at 8:50. Concert already started. #GarthBrooks was AMAZING!#GARTHatThunderRidge, not so much. #BassProShops
— Shandi Treat (@ShandiTreat) October 1, 2022
Loved the show tonight Garth. The sound was great & you looked fantastic. But there are serious safety issues for the elderly and physically challenged. You finished SOTF 4 hours ago and we're just now getting to our hotel room. This was a nightmare.
@naturearenaMO @garthbrooks pic.twitter.com/JjoFwB3S1n— Miss Tracie (@txgb_fan) October 1, 2022
KOLR reports that Ticketmaster was flooded with refund requests since the concert.
Jeff Wilhoit, a Bass Pro Shops leader, told KY3 News that they hired an outside company to coordinate the shuttle system. ““We hired a company called ASM Global. They do large events all over the country.”
He shared that ASM Global also works with FEMA. When the hurricane hit Florida, FEMA took most of the shuttles meant for the concert.
“We had to scramble just to find some on Friday night. We would never encourage anyone to walk down Highway 86,” he told the outlet.
“It’s heartbreaking, honestly. It’s hard to know what to say to those folks. There were people that absolutely, it was a challenge on Friday night. It’s heartbreaking to watch those folks. Especially the ADA folks who had a hard time getting in. Again, for the vast majority of people, it was not only an amazing concert, it was the concert of a lifetime,” said Wilhoit.
He added they “will make it right with folks.”
Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins
