The Music and Miracles concert held Saturday, April 23, in Jordan-Hare Stadium is expecting a crowd of over 55,000 people. Because of the influx of traffic in Auburn that day, the city and University will reroute traffic.
The proceeds from the Music and Miracles concert featuring Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney and Sam Hunt will go to the Chicken Salad Chick Foundation, which aims to raise money for fighting cancer and hunger.
There will be alcohol
Alcohol will be sold in the stadium, said Chicken Salad Chick Foundation Director Barclay Smith. Alcohol is usually forbidden inside the stadium, regardless of age or seat section, according to the Athletic Event Alcohol Policy section of the student handbook.
Traffic will be rerouted
Jeremy Roberts, assistant athletics director, said the preparation and planning for parking and traffic have been going on for six months.
“Portions of the arena lot and stadium will be closed as the stadium is set up for the concert,” Roberts said. “On the day of the concert, the parking lots around campus will be closed similar to how they are on a game day.”
Barclay Smith, director of the Chicken Salad Chick Foundation, said the entire event will be organized similar to traffic organization for home football games.
“The same roads will be barricaded so for Auburn fans it will be a very similar setup,” Smith said. “But there will be a lot of people coming from out of town that aren’t recreational Auburn fans.”
Vendors and tailgating will be set up along the Student Center Greenspace outside of the student center. Parking tickets can be purchased for $35-50 for designated lots on campus, and RVs can park in the Community Garden or at the pond beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, according to the Music and Miracles website.
Sound complaints are being into taken into consideration, Roberts said.
“The plan is to limit noise during the day and have any sound checks and rehearsals occur in the evening,” Roberts said. “Traffic around the stadium will be slower during the days of setup and then the day before and day of the concert.”
Smith said the rehearsals will also have a curfew so as not to disrupt people’s sleep.
Roberts said intensive planning and coordination between University administration, parking and transits and the City of Auburn have taken place.
“Communication, coordination and efficient operations are being stressed to minimize the impact of bringing a large-scale concert into the middle of campus,” Roberts said.
The stage is set
And we're off. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/OTqK5f2vQQ
— Kenny Chesney (@kennychesney) April 18, 2016
The stage area inside the stadium underwent construction on Friday.
“It is quite a process of getting and building the equipment,” Smith said.
Along with the vendors on the greenspace, Smith said fun zones, VIP areas, giveaways and music will also be set up from 12–5 p.m.
Many people are working together to make sure this event is a success, according to Smith.
“We expect people to be there early,” Smith said. “We are just so excited to be able to carry out Kevin’s wishes and continue that work for him.”
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