Dublin City Council Limits Garth Brooks Shows

Brooks was originally scheduled to play only two shows at Croke Park in what was planned as a one-off event, but as shows quickly sold out, three more were added.

Today the Dublin City Council green-lighted July 25, 26 & 27 but denied permission for July 28-29, saying that allowing all five concerts would have caused “unacceptable levels of disruption to the local community,” according to RTE News.

Promoter Peter Aiken of Aiken Productions said concerts are always subject to receiving the necessary permits and that his company had been in contact with the council since the early planning stages.  The promoter also said Brooks was “devastated” by the decision.

But even worse for Brooks’ fans is that Aiken said the remaining three shows might end up getting axed because the production costs were based on doing five concerts.

“I can’t say for definite that the three shows are … definitely going to happen,” Aiken said, according to the Irish Independent. “It is up in the air.  I am devastated.”

Announcing its decision, the city council said it did not want to set a precedent regarding the number of shows per year at Croke Park.  The five planned Brooks concerts plus three One Direction shows would have doubled the yearly maximum for the venue.

Approximately 400,000 tickets were sold for the five shows and cutting the number of shows down to three means about 160,000 fans will be left out.  As to finding another venue, such as Aviva Stadium, to host the two shows, Aiken said the gigs could not be moved.

“This is a one-off show,” Aiken said according to the Independent.  “It will not happen anywhere else in the world.  All the customised pieces that he is bringing in – you can’t strip that down and bring it to another venue.  That is just a rumor.”