By Heather Gjerde
Freakfest security measures may be comforting to some daytime shops on State St., but others say aren’t so positive about the organization and management of the Halloween celebration.
Shop owners that are open during the day say they are mostly satisfied by plans for the event; others have seen only a slight effect on their business.
Tony Azad, owner of Vic’s Corn Popper, 127 State St., said he welcomes the event annually and that the business of his store has not been affected by the Freakfest operations.
“I get trick-or-treaters, but I’m running a business so I can’t give popcorn away,” Azad said. “People understand. They don’t get upset.”
The store will be closing at it’s regular hours of 7 p.m., shortly before police begin to collect tickets in order to enter the gated-off Freakfest area that will begin at 7:30 p.m.
For the first year of the event, Ron Lamberty, manager and part owner of Uno Chicago Grill, 222 W. Gorham St., said police closed nearby parking lots, which led to a loss in some of their regular business and daytime customers. He said they usually have families who enjoy watching the celebration unfurl during the early hours of the night. The restaurant bar will be open until it’s regular time of 2:30 p.m. Saturday night according to Lamberty.
“With the home game and homecoming we want people to be able to come downtown and enjoy the Freakfest during the day as well as during,” Lamberty said.
He hoped to work with the Madison Police to keep open the nearby Buckeye parking lot, 214 W. Gorham Street, but it will be closed to the public.
The owners of the stores that are open later at night tend to be more skeptical of benefits of having an organized event. Some stores along State St. fear being hit by vandals and potential Halloween-night violence.
For Mark Wilson, the general manager of the renovated KFC-Taco Bell, 534 State St., the additional security precautions set up for Freakfest is taking away from his business of past Halloween celebrations. He added that he has seen little difference in the crowd behavior.
“Last year was touted as a huge success by the city,” Wilson said. “From a retail standpoint we were down at least 25%.”
Four years ago, he said the store made over $10,000 in sales, while last year it was down to only $7,000. According to Wilson it is still his biggest day of the year.
“My team loves it, they get excited about it. The harder they have to work on Halloween the better they seem to like it,” Wilson said.
He suggested a different solution: Stagger bar closing times, so they don’t all close once. He suggested just allowing a natural flow of people out of the bars, keeping them open later.
“You put an extra 1,500 kids on the street at one time and it’s going to lead to a problem,” he added.
Bill Clarke, general manager of Qdoba Mexican Grill, 548 State St, said the event has been a success. He said one of the greatest advantages of having an organized event, with ticket admission, was reducing the crowd.
“Sales are lower, but I think it’s a safer and better product than what they had previously,” Clarke said.
Qdoba and KFC-Taco Bell will maintain regular weekend business hours, will be open until 3 a.m. or later.
But, Wilson said, police have told his business to close early in the past.
Wilson said some there’s one Halloween-related tradition he hates.
“It seems to be an annual tradition to kick my door in,” Wilson said.
For the last three years, he has had to replace his front door. As a result, KFC-Taco Bell will have at least three of their own security guards on duty Saturday night.
Others with shops located on State St. expressed mixed feelings.
A shop worker for Shangri La Collections, 125 State St., who wanted to remain anonymous, said the added security of the event has diminished some fun.
“It’s better for our businesses because it’s more controlled, but at the same time it’s not as free. It’s gated, and they break it up early,” the worker said. “It takes out the fun, because it was more spontaneous when it wasn’t gated.”
Most store owners said they expect Freakfest this year to be similar to the 2006 event.
Back to J335 Freakfest Home page
Showing posts with label UW Madison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UW Madison. Show all posts
Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Greeks add guest lists, guards on Halloween
By Danielle Lever
Like everyone else on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, Greek organizations are getting ready for the Halloween weekend.
Most of the fraternity and sorority houses are on Langdon Street, directly parallel to State Street where Freakfest, the city's official Halloween party, will occur on Saturday.
While most students are preparing their costumes and deciding which parties to attend, the Greeks are boarding up their houses and hiring security guards. With the influx of people on Langdon Street, the Greeks have safety in mind.
“We hire two security guards and everyone in the house is allowed to bring one guest and we comprise a list of all the
girls and their guests and the security guards check and only those on the list can get in,” said Kate Levenstien, member of
Delta Gamma sorority.
While all 11 sororities on campus have house managers, fraternities do not and are, therefore, forced to maintain safety without the help of authorities.
“Last year we hired 2 security guards, but we are not this year,” said Jared Steinberg, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi. “It is an individual responsibility and we have sent out repeated emails to the house telling (members) not to do anything irresponsible.”
In terms of producing parties, fraternities and sororities are not permitted to host events, according to Student Organization Office rules. However, some find a way to do so, anyway.
The Madison chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was suspended from campus after receiving 266 citations from the Madison police department for their Halloween party in 2005. After the fraternity received $94,000 in citation fines, other houses are careful not to make the same mistake.
“We just had way too many people at the party and things got out of control,” said Daniel Sherman of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
“Now frats have to be more careful about the parties that they decide to throw.”
Although safety is the main concern, the members of fraternities and sororities are involved in Halloween in other beneficial forms.
One way they participate is Trick or Treat with the Greeks, which occurred on Oct. 19. The program, which pairs a fraternity and sorority together, takes underprivileged Madison area children trick-or-treating up and down Langdon
Street for the afternoon.
“It gave the kids an opportunity to experience a fun Halloween when they might not have been able to,” said Kendal
Friedman, an Alpha Epsilon Phi member.
Halloween may be a scary holiday for some, but the Greeks on campus do everything in their power to ensure that it is not.
Intense preventive measures are taken to enhance safety but the members of the campus sororities and fraternities will be sure to have fun.
“Even though we take heavy security actions, we still enjoy the weekend,” said Levenstien. “We will be right there with everyone else on Langdon and State Streets. We just are going to make sure we partake in the festivities in a safe and conscious manner.”
Back to the J335 Freakfest Home page
Like everyone else on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, Greek organizations are getting ready for the Halloween weekend.
Most of the fraternity and sorority houses are on Langdon Street, directly parallel to State Street where Freakfest, the city's official Halloween party, will occur on Saturday.
While most students are preparing their costumes and deciding which parties to attend, the Greeks are boarding up their houses and hiring security guards. With the influx of people on Langdon Street, the Greeks have safety in mind.
“We hire two security guards and everyone in the house is allowed to bring one guest and we comprise a list of all the
girls and their guests and the security guards check and only those on the list can get in,” said Kate Levenstien, member of
Delta Gamma sorority.
While all 11 sororities on campus have house managers, fraternities do not and are, therefore, forced to maintain safety without the help of authorities.
“Last year we hired 2 security guards, but we are not this year,” said Jared Steinberg, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi. “It is an individual responsibility and we have sent out repeated emails to the house telling (members) not to do anything irresponsible.”
In terms of producing parties, fraternities and sororities are not permitted to host events, according to Student Organization Office rules. However, some find a way to do so, anyway.
The Madison chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon was suspended from campus after receiving 266 citations from the Madison police department for their Halloween party in 2005. After the fraternity received $94,000 in citation fines, other houses are careful not to make the same mistake.
“We just had way too many people at the party and things got out of control,” said Daniel Sherman of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
“Now frats have to be more careful about the parties that they decide to throw.”
Although safety is the main concern, the members of fraternities and sororities are involved in Halloween in other beneficial forms.
One way they participate is Trick or Treat with the Greeks, which occurred on Oct. 19. The program, which pairs a fraternity and sorority together, takes underprivileged Madison area children trick-or-treating up and down Langdon
Street for the afternoon.
“It gave the kids an opportunity to experience a fun Halloween when they might not have been able to,” said Kendal
Friedman, an Alpha Epsilon Phi member.
Halloween may be a scary holiday for some, but the Greeks on campus do everything in their power to ensure that it is not.
Intense preventive measures are taken to enhance safety but the members of the campus sororities and fraternities will be sure to have fun.
“Even though we take heavy security actions, we still enjoy the weekend,” said Levenstien. “We will be right there with everyone else on Langdon and State Streets. We just are going to make sure we partake in the festivities in a safe and conscious manner.”
Back to the J335 Freakfest Home page
Recalling '02 riot, Schauf vows no repeat
By Quinn Craugh
It is a police officer’s worst nightmare—a riot fueled by alcohol and anger with the only line of defense being an undermanned and overwhelmed staff resorting to tear gas in fear of their safety.
For Mary Schauf of the Madison Police Department, that was the scenario for the city’s annual Halloween party on State Street in 2002. Schauf, now the MPD central district captain, was only an officer back then and witnessed first hand the nightmare she could not wake up from.
In the early morning hours of the infamous 2002 Halloween, a restless crowd—which police, at the time, estimated to be nearly 65,000—resorted to using bottles, street signs and chunks of concrete as weapons against the oncoming officers. Schauf said it became a situation the 160 police officers on the street could not handle and tear gas—not pepper spray—quelled the riotous partygoers. She explained the images seen that night will forever be etched in her mind.
“In 2002, we used gas to disperse the crowd, because the crowd actually attacked the officers,” she said. “Bottles, bricks, people were disassembling the wall in Peace Park and throwing it all at cops…they tore up the bike racks and used them as battering rams. It was not a pretty picture.”
Still, Schauf could not explain why it happened.
“It’s interesting when you go out into a crowd and when you go into them you can just feel it,” she said. “[In 2002] you could see the tension in them, they were looking for a fight, it’s one of those things that’s hard to describe, but when you see it you know it.”
Madison Common Council President Mike Verveer told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in 2002, "[people] were ripping down all the street signs in this intersection and were throwing them at the police…lunging at the cops with them, throwing trash cans at the cops, picking up not one, but two bicycle racks with the bicycles still attached to them and then they threw the bicycle racks at the cops."
Schauf said in her 17 years of service as an officer, nothing will ever compare to that moment, calling it “a low point” in her career. The following morning, police had to answer to store owners, who had theirs shops looted and vandalized. She said a heavy dose of criticism was placed on the police department.
“We had a lot of challenges coming off 2002 and into the future,” she said. “We’d be fools not to learn lessons from what we know.”
The following three years, pepper spray was used to clear State Street after the Halloween party. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz threatened to shut down the event after 2003 because of the disorder. Schauf said the primary reason so many problems occurred in those years was the publicity of an alcohol-fueled event.
In fact, Sports Illustrated published an article in their September 2004 campus edition that labeled Halloween a riotous event.
“Mark Oct. 31 on your calendar with an anarchy sign. We’ll be in Madison, Wis., for its annual Halloween party…in which up to 100,000 revelers parade on State Street,” the article read, adding “Warning this is not your standard trick or treating, there have riots the last two years.”
This article sent much of the community up in arms, and Schauf said it urged people from outside the community, who she said have no stake in the city, to come to Madison and ruin it. She noted most of the arrests made over the past five years have been drunken people, most of whom are not UW-Madison students.
“One of the concerning things we were hearing after 2002 was ‘Let’s go to Madison to riot and loot’,” she said. “We actually had people asking the officers [in the years following], what time the riot starts.”
According to Schauf, the crowd estimates during the problematic years were blown way out of proportion. She said only in the 1970s and 1980s did the crowds eclipse 100,000.
Now, however, Schauf, who grew up in the area and studied health and physical education in college, said this is the most optimistic she has ever been for the event. She said it has been a work in progress—and continues to be—so that stakeholders can be proud of the event.
“Halloween should not be about the police department,” Schauf said. “This is not about people coming to mix it up with the police.”
In 2006, Schauf, along with the mayor and MPD chief Noble Wray, made dramatic changes to the event—ticketing, gating and an increased police presence for starters. In the end it worked and Halloween ended peacefully for the first time in nearly half a decade.
And while Schauf expects ‘Freakfest 2007’ to be like 2006 and nothing like 2002, she knows that any time 40,000 people line a street the ‘what if’ factor remains.
“There’s still going to be a police presence there and we will still be prepared for contingencies,” she said, “but we’re hoping we don’t have to clear the street.”
Back to J335 Freakfest Home page
It is a police officer’s worst nightmare—a riot fueled by alcohol and anger with the only line of defense being an undermanned and overwhelmed staff resorting to tear gas in fear of their safety.
For Mary Schauf of the Madison Police Department, that was the scenario for the city’s annual Halloween party on State Street in 2002. Schauf, now the MPD central district captain, was only an officer back then and witnessed first hand the nightmare she could not wake up from.
In the early morning hours of the infamous 2002 Halloween, a restless crowd—which police, at the time, estimated to be nearly 65,000—resorted to using bottles, street signs and chunks of concrete as weapons against the oncoming officers. Schauf said it became a situation the 160 police officers on the street could not handle and tear gas—not pepper spray—quelled the riotous partygoers. She explained the images seen that night will forever be etched in her mind.
“In 2002, we used gas to disperse the crowd, because the crowd actually attacked the officers,” she said. “Bottles, bricks, people were disassembling the wall in Peace Park and throwing it all at cops…they tore up the bike racks and used them as battering rams. It was not a pretty picture.”
Still, Schauf could not explain why it happened.
“It’s interesting when you go out into a crowd and when you go into them you can just feel it,” she said. “[In 2002] you could see the tension in them, they were looking for a fight, it’s one of those things that’s hard to describe, but when you see it you know it.”
Madison Common Council President Mike Verveer told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in 2002, "[people] were ripping down all the street signs in this intersection and were throwing them at the police…lunging at the cops with them, throwing trash cans at the cops, picking up not one, but two bicycle racks with the bicycles still attached to them and then they threw the bicycle racks at the cops."
Schauf said in her 17 years of service as an officer, nothing will ever compare to that moment, calling it “a low point” in her career. The following morning, police had to answer to store owners, who had theirs shops looted and vandalized. She said a heavy dose of criticism was placed on the police department.
“We had a lot of challenges coming off 2002 and into the future,” she said. “We’d be fools not to learn lessons from what we know.”
The following three years, pepper spray was used to clear State Street after the Halloween party. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz threatened to shut down the event after 2003 because of the disorder. Schauf said the primary reason so many problems occurred in those years was the publicity of an alcohol-fueled event.
In fact, Sports Illustrated published an article in their September 2004 campus edition that labeled Halloween a riotous event.
“Mark Oct. 31 on your calendar with an anarchy sign. We’ll be in Madison, Wis., for its annual Halloween party…in which up to 100,000 revelers parade on State Street,” the article read, adding “Warning this is not your standard trick or treating, there have riots the last two years.”
This article sent much of the community up in arms, and Schauf said it urged people from outside the community, who she said have no stake in the city, to come to Madison and ruin it. She noted most of the arrests made over the past five years have been drunken people, most of whom are not UW-Madison students.
“One of the concerning things we were hearing after 2002 was ‘Let’s go to Madison to riot and loot’,” she said. “We actually had people asking the officers [in the years following], what time the riot starts.”
According to Schauf, the crowd estimates during the problematic years were blown way out of proportion. She said only in the 1970s and 1980s did the crowds eclipse 100,000.
Now, however, Schauf, who grew up in the area and studied health and physical education in college, said this is the most optimistic she has ever been for the event. She said it has been a work in progress—and continues to be—so that stakeholders can be proud of the event.
“Halloween should not be about the police department,” Schauf said. “This is not about people coming to mix it up with the police.”
In 2006, Schauf, along with the mayor and MPD chief Noble Wray, made dramatic changes to the event—ticketing, gating and an increased police presence for starters. In the end it worked and Halloween ended peacefully for the first time in nearly half a decade.
And while Schauf expects ‘Freakfest 2007’ to be like 2006 and nothing like 2002, she knows that any time 40,000 people line a street the ‘what if’ factor remains.
“There’s still going to be a police presence there and we will still be prepared for contingencies,” she said, “but we’re hoping we don’t have to clear the street.”
Back to J335 Freakfest Home page
Let's see - this year I'll be...
By Skye Kalkstein
In about a week, the streets of Madison will overflow with an array of characters, not just the typical ghosts and goblins. This is Madison after all, and UW students are feeling the pressure to live up to the city’s most celebrated holiday.
Celebrating Halloween is definitely exciting for most UW students. When asked if Halloween is important to her, one UW sophomore, Shana Domonitch expressed great enthusiasm.
“Yes,” said Domonitch while simultaneously nodding her head. “I look forward to it all year.”
Considering the importance of this holiday among students, costume choice is crucial. Most students said they have been thinking about their outfits for the past two weeks.
Many are looking to Web sites like www.halloweenexpress.com and www.costumecraze.com to shop for costumes. 18-year-old UW student, Courtney Levy bought her, “pit shop hottie” outfit at www.forplaycatalog.com.
“It’s the cutest outfit ever,” said Levy through a smile.
These online Web sites charge upward of $80 for some of their costumes, and cost is a concern for many. Levy compromised, purchasing one costume online, and putting together another outfit on her own.
David Berezow, a junior at the University of Wisconsin, is borrowing a friend’s costume one night to budget his money. Also, Berezow looked locally to purchase his other costume.
“I walked out of the library one day and saw a sign at the bookstore that said Halloween costumes for sale,” told Berezow. “I just went in and bought my Batman costume.”
UW sophomore, Staci Rosenblum, based her Halloween budget on mistakes she made her freshman year.
“After I realized how much I spent last year, and how unimportant it was to buy costumes, I decided to take the cheap route,” said Rosenblum.
It seems students are primarily choosing their costumes to stand out, although Berezow admitted that it won’t be easy.
“It’s hard to stand out in Madison because you have a lot of creative costumes, but I always like being the center of attention,” said Berezow.
While many students are picking costumes that will set them apart from the crowd, several are planning outfits together. For example, Rosenblum plans on being the Flintstone’s Betty while her friend is Wilma.
Although Halloween is commonly celebrated on numerous college campuses, it is absolutely more significant to UW’s students.
“As a former Penn State student, I definitely did not put nearly as much thought into my Halloween costume there as I do here,” said Berezow.
This year’s Halloween celebration will undoubtedly feature shocking, unique costumes. But, this is Madison, and no one expects any less than extraordinary.
Back to J335 Freakfest Home page
In about a week, the streets of Madison will overflow with an array of characters, not just the typical ghosts and goblins. This is Madison after all, and UW students are feeling the pressure to live up to the city’s most celebrated holiday.
Celebrating Halloween is definitely exciting for most UW students. When asked if Halloween is important to her, one UW sophomore, Shana Domonitch expressed great enthusiasm.
“Yes,” said Domonitch while simultaneously nodding her head. “I look forward to it all year.”
Considering the importance of this holiday among students, costume choice is crucial. Most students said they have been thinking about their outfits for the past two weeks.
Many are looking to Web sites like www.halloweenexpress.com and www.costumecraze.com to shop for costumes. 18-year-old UW student, Courtney Levy bought her, “pit shop hottie” outfit at www.forplaycatalog.com.
“It’s the cutest outfit ever,” said Levy through a smile.
These online Web sites charge upward of $80 for some of their costumes, and cost is a concern for many. Levy compromised, purchasing one costume online, and putting together another outfit on her own.
David Berezow, a junior at the University of Wisconsin, is borrowing a friend’s costume one night to budget his money. Also, Berezow looked locally to purchase his other costume.
“I walked out of the library one day and saw a sign at the bookstore that said Halloween costumes for sale,” told Berezow. “I just went in and bought my Batman costume.”
UW sophomore, Staci Rosenblum, based her Halloween budget on mistakes she made her freshman year.
“After I realized how much I spent last year, and how unimportant it was to buy costumes, I decided to take the cheap route,” said Rosenblum.
It seems students are primarily choosing their costumes to stand out, although Berezow admitted that it won’t be easy.
“It’s hard to stand out in Madison because you have a lot of creative costumes, but I always like being the center of attention,” said Berezow.
While many students are picking costumes that will set them apart from the crowd, several are planning outfits together. For example, Rosenblum plans on being the Flintstone’s Betty while her friend is Wilma.
Although Halloween is commonly celebrated on numerous college campuses, it is absolutely more significant to UW’s students.
“As a former Penn State student, I definitely did not put nearly as much thought into my Halloween costume there as I do here,” said Berezow.
This year’s Halloween celebration will undoubtedly feature shocking, unique costumes. But, this is Madison, and no one expects any less than extraordinary.
Back to J335 Freakfest Home page
'Call security!' City hires RTM
By Alec Luhn
After a fiasco over mismanagement of private security at last year’s Freakfest, Madison has contracted a new security firm for this year’s event.
Milwaukee-based firm RTM will replace APA of Madison Inc., which the city hired to staff the 2006 State Street Halloween celebration with 100 security personnel. Even after officials renegotiated the contract to require 75 security workers, only 47 were present at the event, forcing the city to pay 28 of its own employees overtime to staff the gates.
City officials are confident RTM will do a better job at the second annual Freakfest.
“They have a lot of experience and are well-established, so they should be a reliable security provider,” said mayoral spokesman George Twigg.
Frank Productions, the company tapped by planners this year to oversee ticket sales and set up entertainment and sponsorships for Freakfest, recommended the city hire RTM for gate security, according to Twigg. The promoter has a separate contract with RTM for concert security at the three stages on State Street.
“Where city workers were filling the gaps last year, now RTM will be filling in,” said Frank Productions Vice President Dave Maynard.
Over 100 RTM staffers will be on hand at Freakfest for both gate and concert security, according to Maynard. RTM referred all questions to the mayor’s office.
RTM security personnel will work alongside officers from the Madison, Capitol and University of Wisconsin police departments, with state and county police on standby, according to Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain. Madison and University police declined to give exact numbers due to security concerns.
Although the Madison Police Department is still finalizing security plans, a Madison police chief will oversee all aspects of Freakfest security from a downtown command post, according to DeSpain. Besides the MPD horse patrol and a “full contingent” of officers on foot, police will install surveillance cameras to identify potential problems during the event.
Police will remain in the background for the most part, DeSpain said, although officers will arrest anyone carrying glass containers or otherwise breaking the law at Freakfest.
“Now it’s a professionally run event with corporate sponsors, we’re moving from a police event to something like Summerfest,” he said.
DeSpain said police hope to build on last year’s successes and make fewer arrests at this year’s celebration. At Freakfest 2006, police arrested 143 people, compared to 334 people on the same day in 2005.
“We’re hoping the knuckleheads responsible for rioting years ago won’t come back,” DeSpain said. “We believe last year we turned the corner, and we’re hoping to improve on those successes.
An estimated 35,000 people turned out for last year’s event, and this year officials are anticipating a number closer to the cap of 50,000 tickets, according to Maynard. Even if the crowd does grow, the city is not expecting security to be a major issue, Twigg said.
“This year with higher profile bands there could be more, but more people doesn’t necessarily mean more problems,” he said.
Although Freakfest coincides with the UW Homecoming football game against Indiana, organizers said the overlap would only benefit the celebration by drawing UW alumni and fans.
“That’s what we’re looking for, people who have a connection to Madison, to be at this event,” Maynard said. “They feel more of a sense of ownership in the city.”
The city has $20,000 budgeted for security expenditures, although the combined cost of security and law enforcement at last year’s event was over $800,000, according to Twigg. He expects ticket sales to bring in $130,000 to $150,000.
Maynard said RTM security personnel are prepared to handle whatever crowd control issues may arise. Frank Productions relies on RTM for security at most of its events because of the company’s experience and reputation, he said.
RTM has done security for large concerts and sporting events around Wisconsin. The Alliant Energy Center hires the firm for almost all the performances it hosts, according to Alliant Energy Center Sales and Marketing Director Ted Ballweg.
“We’ve always been impressed with their ability to deal with anything,” Ballweg said. “To hear they’re the vendor for security at Freakfest is very reassuring.”
At the Alliant Energy Center, the firm has handled everything from heavy metal concerts to Madison’s annual Bratfest, which drew around 80,000 people to center grounds this year, Ballweg said.
State Street business owners have also been impressed with the records of Frank Productions and RTM.
“I haven’t heard any concerns about security from downtown businesses,” said Madison Central Business Improvement District Executive Director Mary Carbine. “Between the MPD and their experience with this event and Frank Productions and their experience with arena concerts and security, we feel we’re in good hands.”
DeSpain said he hopes this year’s Freakfest will hearken back to the spirit of Halloween fun he remembers from his days as a UW-Madison student in the early ‘80s.
“Word’s gotten out that things have changed,” he said. “We’re hoping people will behave themselves so they can wake up and watch the Packers the next day.”
Back to J335 Freakfest Home page
After a fiasco over mismanagement of private security at last year’s Freakfest, Madison has contracted a new security firm for this year’s event.
Milwaukee-based firm RTM will replace APA of Madison Inc., which the city hired to staff the 2006 State Street Halloween celebration with 100 security personnel. Even after officials renegotiated the contract to require 75 security workers, only 47 were present at the event, forcing the city to pay 28 of its own employees overtime to staff the gates.
City officials are confident RTM will do a better job at the second annual Freakfest.
“They have a lot of experience and are well-established, so they should be a reliable security provider,” said mayoral spokesman George Twigg.
Frank Productions, the company tapped by planners this year to oversee ticket sales and set up entertainment and sponsorships for Freakfest, recommended the city hire RTM for gate security, according to Twigg. The promoter has a separate contract with RTM for concert security at the three stages on State Street.
“Where city workers were filling the gaps last year, now RTM will be filling in,” said Frank Productions Vice President Dave Maynard.
Over 100 RTM staffers will be on hand at Freakfest for both gate and concert security, according to Maynard. RTM referred all questions to the mayor’s office.
RTM security personnel will work alongside officers from the Madison, Capitol and University of Wisconsin police departments, with state and county police on standby, according to Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain. Madison and University police declined to give exact numbers due to security concerns.
Although the Madison Police Department is still finalizing security plans, a Madison police chief will oversee all aspects of Freakfest security from a downtown command post, according to DeSpain. Besides the MPD horse patrol and a “full contingent” of officers on foot, police will install surveillance cameras to identify potential problems during the event.
Police will remain in the background for the most part, DeSpain said, although officers will arrest anyone carrying glass containers or otherwise breaking the law at Freakfest.
“Now it’s a professionally run event with corporate sponsors, we’re moving from a police event to something like Summerfest,” he said.
DeSpain said police hope to build on last year’s successes and make fewer arrests at this year’s celebration. At Freakfest 2006, police arrested 143 people, compared to 334 people on the same day in 2005.
“We’re hoping the knuckleheads responsible for rioting years ago won’t come back,” DeSpain said. “We believe last year we turned the corner, and we’re hoping to improve on those successes.
An estimated 35,000 people turned out for last year’s event, and this year officials are anticipating a number closer to the cap of 50,000 tickets, according to Maynard. Even if the crowd does grow, the city is not expecting security to be a major issue, Twigg said.
“This year with higher profile bands there could be more, but more people doesn’t necessarily mean more problems,” he said.
Although Freakfest coincides with the UW Homecoming football game against Indiana, organizers said the overlap would only benefit the celebration by drawing UW alumni and fans.
“That’s what we’re looking for, people who have a connection to Madison, to be at this event,” Maynard said. “They feel more of a sense of ownership in the city.”
The city has $20,000 budgeted for security expenditures, although the combined cost of security and law enforcement at last year’s event was over $800,000, according to Twigg. He expects ticket sales to bring in $130,000 to $150,000.
Maynard said RTM security personnel are prepared to handle whatever crowd control issues may arise. Frank Productions relies on RTM for security at most of its events because of the company’s experience and reputation, he said.
RTM has done security for large concerts and sporting events around Wisconsin. The Alliant Energy Center hires the firm for almost all the performances it hosts, according to Alliant Energy Center Sales and Marketing Director Ted Ballweg.
“We’ve always been impressed with their ability to deal with anything,” Ballweg said. “To hear they’re the vendor for security at Freakfest is very reassuring.”
At the Alliant Energy Center, the firm has handled everything from heavy metal concerts to Madison’s annual Bratfest, which drew around 80,000 people to center grounds this year, Ballweg said.
State Street business owners have also been impressed with the records of Frank Productions and RTM.
“I haven’t heard any concerns about security from downtown businesses,” said Madison Central Business Improvement District Executive Director Mary Carbine. “Between the MPD and their experience with this event and Frank Productions and their experience with arena concerts and security, we feel we’re in good hands.”
DeSpain said he hopes this year’s Freakfest will hearken back to the spirit of Halloween fun he remembers from his days as a UW-Madison student in the early ‘80s.
“Word’s gotten out that things have changed,” he said. “We’re hoping people will behave themselves so they can wake up and watch the Packers the next day.”
Back to J335 Freakfest Home page
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)