Stadium Apologizes To Drenched GNR Fans

Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, apologised to thousands of Guns N’ Roses fans at the Feb. 2 stop of the Not In Your Lifetime Tour who were kept waiting 90 minutes in heavy rain before being allowed in.

John Davisson – Guns N’ Roses
Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.

“We sincerely apologise for the delay which was due to weather related technical difficulties,” the venue tweeted.

Turnstiles had stopped working, and rain further delayed the arrival of staff who could safely have operated the gates.

Westpac Stadium chief executive Shane Harmon later explained high winds the night before lead to concerns if the stage would be erected in time, and crews worked through the night. Drenched fans took to social media to express their annoyance. One posted, “Sort your technical difficulties out. It rains a lot in Wellington and if your system can’t handle it that it is poor performance from your team.”

But once the problem was fixed by 6:40 p.m., there were no further issues, Harmon said, according to New Zealand news site Stuff.

Some 22,000 people were in by 7:30 p.m., 30,200 by 8:15 p.m., and the full 31,500 by the time GNR hit the stage – 50 minutes late, at 8:50 p.m.

twitter.com/WestpacStadium – Westpac Stadium
preparing for the GNR show, as tweeted by the venue Feb. 1.

The band’s Duff McKagan later posted, “Holy HELL Wellington! Where you been all my life? In the rain and wind, you all showed what this town is made of. Too f*ckin cool…too cool.”

The band played its second NZ show Feb. 4 at Western Springs Stadium. The band is currently in Australia, beginning a six-date, five-city run at Brisbane’s QSAC Stadium Feb. 7. It ends Feb. 21 at Perth Domain Stadium.