Students looking forward to seeing the star-studded Spring Fest lineup under a starry sky will now have to enjoy it under the roof of Alumni Arena.
On Tuesday, UB’s Student Association sent an e-mail to all students notifying them of the venue change for Spring Fest. The Chainsmokers, Mac Miller, Icona Pop and Coleman Hell were originally suppose to perform outdoors at Baird Point, but will now perform inside Alumni Arena. There were originally 1,500 general public tickets and 1,000 have been sold, according to SA President Minahil Khan. Alumni Arena can hold up to 6,500 people, leaving room for roughly 5,500 students.
The forecast calls for a low 42 degrees by the end of the concert and the decision to move Spring Fest inside is not reversible, according to SA.
Andrew Smith, a junior economics major, highlights the positives of having a concert of this magnitude inside. Less people in the arena creates an environment for a surreal and unique experience, he said.
“It would’ve been phenomenal if Spring Fest could be outside with nice mild weather, but I’m still excited for the concert,” Smith said. “The lineup is still great and I’m hopeful the atmosphere inside the arena would still be just as good. The noise of the crowd is going to be five times louder than it would’ve been outside.”
Other students aren’t as excited to be indoors.
Kevin Rivera, a junior business major, is concerned about the atmosphere of the concert when it’s indoors.
“Everything is more free when it’s outside,” Rivera said. “When it’s inside it gets smelly and packed in no time.”
In the e-mail, SA urged students to come early. Doors open at 5:15 p.m., almost an hour before the event begins.
Rivera plans to get to the event early, so he can see all the acts and not just the headliners.
Karriem Barrow, a junior nursing major, had the freedom to enter and exit last year’s Spring Fest whenever he pleased since the concert was outside.
Now he’s forced to decide between dedicating five hours to watching the entire show or not going to it entirely.
“I only wanted to go to Spring Fest to watch Mac Miller’s set,” Barrow said. “To be honest I had no plans to come on time to watch the opening acts or stay until the end to watch the Chainsmokers.”
The indoor venue also causes issues for students who wanted to bring friends from other schools, since SA stopped selling tickets to the general public due to the change of venue.
Rivera had hoped to bring some friends to the show.
“I told a couple of my friends back home about the line-up and they were hoping to come to the show,” Rivera said. “When I told them there were no tickets on sale for non-students they were extremely disappointed.”
Spring Fest will take place on Saturday, April 23. The show starts at 6 p.m.
Jamal Allard is the arts editor and can be reached at arts@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
