To the editor,
For the last 15 years, I’ve spent Sunday afternoons playing baseball
on the Common. Some of my teammates have been playing together here for
30 years. While we play, the rest of the diamonds are full; there’s
also an ultimate frisbee game, the regular cricket match, flag
football, a pickup soccer game and innumerable groups chatting, reading
or sunbathing. In all, I’d estimate more than 500 people move through
the Common during our game. Such varied community use is simply what
the word “Common” denotes.
But that designation is obviously under increasing threat, as we
know, with city council allowing—and heavily
subsidizing—mega-concerts. Public access to the “Common” has been
blocked and the turf churned up until snowfall. Remember the promises
about speedy cleanup? An HRM web page provides detailed and lengthy
specifications about concert cleanup, which even extend to stipulations
about fertilizer application rates, but anyone who crosses the Common
knows how poorly the words translate into action. In fact, our ball
game scheduled for diamond 7 on Sunday, June 7 (that’s 2009, not 2008)
was cancelled because—according to city staff—the field still isn’t
in good enough condition after last year’s events.
Soon, we’ll have McCartney as well as Kiss. This year’s events are
two months earlier, which means that public access to the Common will
be compromised at the beginning of the summer, rather than at the end.
We’ve been told this year’s plan involves the other end of the Common.
It’s good to spread the wreckage, I suppose.
I can’t imagine that anyone isn’t pleased that Halifax has attracted
world-class acts; my only question concerns the venue. Why not run
buses to the Exhibition Grounds? Why the neighbourhood invasion of
Canada’s oldest city park—land designated for the “common use of the
inhabitants of peninsular Halifax”? What kind of city council could so
detach words from their meanings that “public space” could be
interpreted as “for-profit, tax-subsidized events” rather than
“public”? —Kenna Manos, Halifax
Related Stories
Confirmed: Paul McCartney on the Common, July 11.
This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2009.
i understand your frustration,BUT,where would 60,000 people eat?Buses would jack up the costs…lets keep the concerts to the professionals,they know the details….just accept it and play ball somewhere else,it’s only a game….typical maritime response,me me me,never thinking of the big picture…halifax,lets grow up and accept that the commons is for EVERYBODY,NOT JUST WEEKEND JOCKS!!!!!
Thank you for writing your letter, Kenna. That’s very much what I’ve wanted to say, but probably better put. Exhibition Park, yes — make sense, since most of the attendees are coming in from the suburbs or out of town. However, at the very least, the Halifax Common Plan says that these for-profit entities should be paying for the use of the grounds for private events — not the other way around, as it is now (to the tune of $250,000+ per event). Then at least some money could be put back into maintenance and improvement.
As for halifaxmentor, you do make one point (probably by accident): The Common is for everybody! And when it is closed off to everyone except a select few for several days, that’s very much against the definition of a *Common*. Thousands of people who live in the area use the park every day, most not for sports (but maybe a little exercise would do you good). Most of us don’t have yards, there’s very little green space around. This is where we go. Every day. Get it? It matters to us. Even after the concerts have been and gone, half of the grounds are left destroyed and are fenced off or marked off-limits while they take a year or more to recover. (And then the city lies — we just got a newsletter stating that the fields are back to “pre-concert condition”, yet they’re still all closed for repair!)
I’m afraid the rest of your complaints are even less informed, mentor: The shuttles are already running from Bayer’s Lake and mall, and fewer would be needed if the venue wasn’t downtown — so that’s less cost. All the food is provided by vendors on site. (The nearby businesses see very little traffic and many close for the day.) And if you saw the condition of the fields — the enormous tire ruts, the mud, the stench! — after the last two events, well… if these are the professionals, they need to find other careers!
Don’t we have a Metro Center for these kindsa things?
Totally agree with you 100%; the field is angry about it, and so are the citizens. Stop turning our one grassy area which isn’t fenced off (Mysterious how many grassy areas in this city have fences around them for no particular reason.) into the worlds largest mud pit!
If Paul McCartney cared about the environment in the first place he wouldn’t be ruining our field for his profit!!!
Outdoor concerts are a FANTASTIC IDEA!
but… NOT on the Halifax Common
if we want to become known as a place that hosts great outdoor concerts (and i’m all for that), then the concert promoters need to *invest* money into a proper *outdoor venue* – in an area/location that is appropriate for large outdoor events… like major rock concerts, and such.
the Common is just not suited to large outdoor concerts, nor is it intended to be used for these types of private events anyway. if we want big outdoor concerts (i certainly do), then we need to think carefully about investing in a venue that is *purpose-built* and appropriately located for outdoor concerts. these things do not belong in our back yards (almost literally), nor on commandeered *public land*, which gets fenced-off for days/weeks at a time, and significantly restricts access to nearby residents and the public.
so, it’s not fair (nor accurate) to say that these concerts take-over the Common for only one evening… the days leading up to and following the concert(s) basically put much of the grounds out of commission, during which, public use of the land gets restricted or cut-off – before, during and after the event, perhaps for weeks.
now, maybe some people (those with vested interests) would like to acquire the Common as their own personal cash cow – and turn it into an ugly mess for days, maybe weeks, at a time, whilst access to the public becomes limited, and the grounds in an unsusable state, b/c the abuse & damage caused by heavy equipment and thousands of people.
look, if these ‘concert promoters’ are serious about bringing big outdoor events to HRM, then they need put their $$$ where their mouth is – acquire/buy a piece of land/property that would be ideal for outdoor concerts and other types of events. transform the place into a really cool outdoor venue, something totally state-of-the-art, where international acts, musicisians, and so on, would actually want to perform.
if we build it… they will come. and not some (typically) half-assed project either, it’s gotta be WOW, this place is world-class! and let’s face it, the Metro Centre kinda sucks for musical acts, because of the building’s awful acoustics. so HRM is overdue for a *proper* concert venue anyway – we need to build something *modern* if we wish to attract acts from all over the world.
OR, the promoters could simply continue to expropriate the Halifax Common each summer, at expense, inconvenience and considerable annoyance to the tax payer – while our fairweather promoter friends take the money and skedaddle.
personally, i like the public Common just the way she is… loved & enjoyed by the public, as intended. i don’t think we need to exploit and abuse her whenever some ‘Tom, Dick & Harry’ concert promoter comes to town.
It’s funny someone referencing a “me, me, me” comment when obviously, since they can afford to go to the concert, it’s only about “them, them, them!” There are allot of peple in this city who can’t afford to go to the few mega concerts in the summer and those concerts ruin the Commons for the rest of the summer for everyone. Yes, everyone – that is who the Commons belong to, not just those fortunate enough to be able to buy a ticket to these events. The Commons are exactly what they sound like – Common land that belongs to ALL the people of the city, not city council or Peter Kelly or to those who run private for profit events. And it’s a sad attiude to say “play ball somewhere else”. Where? The Commons are a free space that provides a place for baseball, soccer, children flying kites and allot of other activities that have been blocked to the common people so the site could be secured for the private events of the last few weeks. And anyone wonder how much the Commons is rented out for? $1.00 people, that’s how much. (want to ask who is paying for the clean up afterwards?) And try asking questions like where most of Mccartney’s stage and video etc. was rented from. Mostly from the U.S.A., not here. So for the few “benefits ” a small number of people got, our Commons (and especially after another concert this weekend) will be in ruined for another year or two for everyone. And what is wrong with having concerts at Exhibition Park? They ran lots of extra buses for the McCartney concert, how hard would it be to do the same thing out there? Lots of parking is a bonus for that site too, and we could fix it up as N.B. has done with their venue. (which isn’t in the middle of any city , if you look at the map) Everything has a cost now, it’s just the wrong people are paying it here. (and yes, I was for McCartney coming, just not to the Commons!)