Syracuse Amphitheatre’s Dave Matthews Band Show Tainted By Parking Issues

Evan Agostini / Invision / AP – Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews performs for the cause during A Concert For Island Relief at Radio City Music Hall in NYC Jan. 6.

Officials at Lakeview Amphitheater in Syracuse, N.Y., are attempting to remedy the parking situation at the venue in time for Kenny Chesney’s June 7 concert after Dave Matthews Band’s June 5 gig resulted in long lines for the shuttles and unhappy fans, some of whom reportedly missed part of the show.   

The DMB concert and a June 2 stop from Kidz Bop Live marked the first events of the 2018 season at the amphitheater, which is facing hurdles with parking because of ongoing construction of its Orange lot. 

A review of the DMB performance posted on Syracuse.com declared that “Lakeview Amp traffic chaos nearly ruins solid Dave Matthews Band concert.”

The review notes that DMB postponed its 8 p.m. start to 8:25 p.m. “to accommodate hundreds, possibly thousands, of attendees that were stuck in the parking lot waiting for the shuttle” and that hundreds of fans didn’t get into the show until after 9 p.m. 

“Your parking situation and process for moving concertgoers into the amphitheater is HORRENDOUS!!!!  We’ve been in line, waiting for a shuttle bus, for the better part of an hour, and still have at least a half hour to go…FIVE MINUTES AFTER THE CONCERT STARTED!!!” a fan named James Fennelly tweeted. 

Another concertgoer posted a photo on Twitter of fans trying to cross the 1-690 highway on foot to get to the show because the pedestrian bridge walkway had been closed. 

The venue addressed complaints on Twitter by tweeting June 5, “We hear you. We hope you enjoyed tonight’s show. We will have additional shuttles to bring you back to the Pink Lot this evening after the show. Please have patience & be safe.”

Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney spoke at a press conference June 6 and explained that the pedestrian bridge was closed because there wasn’t a safe path through construction of the Orange lot, which is owned by the state. 

“It really is on us. We made the decision to close the pedestrian bridge because we thought it was the safest thing for people. As it turns out, it wasn’t,” Mahoney said, according to CityCentral.com.

In addition to reopening the pedestrian bridge for the Chesney show, St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview General Manager Matt Hollander announced in a statement that the venue is “significantly increasing the number of shuttles for both the entry and exit of the facility.”

The venue is also opening its parking lots a half hour earlier at the Chesney show – four hours before the 7:30 p.m. start time with opening act Old Dominion.  

Complimentary shuttle service to the venue is available for fans who park in the Brown or Pink lots.  

A representative for the venue wasn’t immediately available when Pollstar reached out for comment.