Squamish Fest Boosts Capacity

A music festival in Squamish, British Columbia, is planning a big capacity boost that might help raise the fest’s status among summer events.

The Squamish Valley Music Festival currently features a 19,000 capacity at its Hendrickson Fields & Logger Sports Ground home, but organizers recently inked a deal with the town to move the event to another location next year with a 35,000 capacity, the Vancouver Sun reported.

“We’ve done some fairly heavy consulting,” brand. LIVE executive producer Paul Runnals, who co-promotes with Live Nation, told the paper. “We didn’t just pick a number. We’ve crunched the numbers to figure out what the (Squamish) valley can support. … We want to do a good job at 35,000 and see whether or not we have a go beyond that. That’s to be seen.”

Runnals hopes the festival’s move to Centennial Fields, plus a date change to early August 2014, could help draw larger acts that typically play events such as Montreal’s Osheaga or Chicago’s Lollapalooza around that time.

“We are looking at some of the top talent that you’re going to see out on the festival circuit next year,” he added. “There’s no doubt about that.”

Attendance at the fest has reportedly averaged between 8,000 and 13,000 daily, with camping sites booked months in advance. The new location could hold as many as 9,000 camping sites next year, the Sun said.

Acts on the books for the 2013 installment of the Squamish Valley Music Festival Aug. 9-10 include Vampire Weekend, Queens of the Stone Age, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Band of Horses, Young The Giant, Childish Gambino, Jurassic 5, and Fitz And The Tantrums.