housedog Posted March 12 Report Share Posted March 12 The show will go on: City, promoter agree By CAROLYN SALAZAR csalazar@herald.com A day after wanting the plug pulled on a popular downtown concert, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz said Monday he was satisfied that promoters agreed to beef up security and ban the sale of pacifiers and lollipops at the 14-hour festival. Promoters of the Ultra Electronic Music festival, scheduled for March 22 at Bayfront Park, agreed to pay to double police presence and install double fences after the mayor expressed concerns about reports of rampant drug use at last year's concert. Promoters also said they would ban the sale of paraphernalia popular among Ecstasy users, such as baby pacifiers, lollipops and Popsicles that supposedly enhance the drug experience. The conflict began over the weekend after Diaz sent out a news release saying he would ask the board of Bayfront Park Management Trust not to issue a license to the festival. It was the first time the mayor spoke so publicly against an issue. But at Monday's board meeting, promoters said they would take measures to reduce drug use at the daylong music festival, which drew nearly 30,000 fans last year. Diaz, who also attended the meeting, said he was happy promoters agreed to the added safety measures and said he would not try to cancel the popular concert. ''This is all about children and minors,'' he said after the meeting. DOUBLE SECURITY During the meeting, promoters agreed to double the number of undercover officers from 38 to 70, and uniformed officers from 50 to 100. In addition to banning backpacks, promoters will double the fencing around the park. Detectives testified that at last year's show people who couldn't smuggle drugs into the park during the concert would toss the substances over the fence. Russell Faibisch, co-founder and chief executive of the music festival, said it would cost promoters more than $100,000 to comply with the added safety measures -- but they would to do so at the city's request. He said promoters had not taken the added safety steps before because the city never asked them to do so. ''We do expect to lose money on this,'' he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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