SaskTel Centre gearing up for parking at Garth Brooks shows

SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon is gearing up for a crazy few days as the first Garth Brooks show in more than 20 years opens Thursday night.

“We haven’t had an artist in our market that has had the power to sell out six shows in four days and we have 90,000 fans coming and we’re extremely excited, it’s going to be a great run for us,” explained Scott Ford, executive director for SaskTel Centre.

The concerts will present a major logistical challenge for the centre. The biggest battle will likely be keeping traffic running smoothly on the double show nights on Friday and Saturday.

“Lots of planning, working with lots of city departments, transit, city police, and certainly our own internal staff and parking team, but it’s a big job for us,” Ford said.

On Friday and Saturday the first show will start at 7 p.m. sharp. After everyone clears out, doors for the second show open again at 10 p.m. or later.

“How the Garth camp works, is they watch the scan numbers to make sure the building is loaded before they start the show,” Ford explained.

For the second show on those nights, it’s best not to come too early or the parking lot will still be full from the previous show.

On Thursday and Sunday the show doesn’t start until 7:30 p.m. but the gates and doors will open at 6 p.m.

“For those two shows, the Thursday and Sunday, we’re certainly telling people to come early. Take advantage of the shuttle buses,” Ford said. “We have shuttle buses from three malls: Lawson Heights, Market Mall, and (Confederation), where it’s a park and ride and it’s a five dollar fare and then we’re just telling the customers to be patient and follow the directions of the police and parking attendants when they’re coming to the event.”

For fans eager to see the country music icon, the key to getting in and out will be patience.

Here’s a few things to know about how to get to and from the Garth Brooks concerts.

Remember

Concert goers are reminded to check the date and time on their tickets; with six shows in four days, there’s potential for attending the wrong show.
Transit won’t be extending hours on other routes, so people are being reminded they may have to make alternative arrangements to get home from the downtown terminal or from the mall Park and Ride locations.
SaskTel Centre doesn’t allow RVs or trailers on site, and no tailgating is permitted.
There will be no re-entry permitted for patrons at the shows.
There is no opening act during the double-show days Friday and Saturday. Brooks is expected to take the stage promptly at the listed start time for the early evening shows. The later shows on Friday and Saturday could see some fluctuations in their start times — staff said they won’t start until the venue is near capacity.
People attending the later shows are asked to arrive early, and go to the South End parking lot near Highway 16 to clear pre-scanning and security.

Thursday, June 9

Doors open at 6 p.m. , show to start at 7:30 p.m.
Park & Ride service from Lawson, Market and Confederation Malls to start at 5:45 p.m.

Friday, June 10

Early show: Doors open at 5:30 p.m., show to start at 7:00 p.m.
Park & Ride service from Lawson, Market and Confederation Malls to start at 5:15 p.m.
Late Show: Doors expected to open at 10 p.m.

Saturday, June 11

Early show: Doors open at 5:30 p.m., show to start at 7:00 p.m.
Park & Ride service from Lawson, Market and Confederation Malls to start at 5:15 p.m.
Late Show: Doors expected to open at 10 p.m.