Spring Fest 2018 will take place Saturday in Alumni Arena.
SA Events sent an email to Spring Fest ticket holders Sunday afternoon, which stated the May 5 event will happen inside Alumni Arena due to “low temperatures” and “poor field conditions.”
The email included a weather report that showed Saturday night’s forecast featuring a high of 55 degrees and a low of 45 degrees.
Student Association Entertainment Coordinator Marc Rosenblitt said the temperature threshold minimum of 60 to 65 degrees at the end of the show, based on “industry standards and audience safety,” wasn’t obtainable. He also said the green space by the Governors lot is “incredibly soft” after monitoring it for a week and that it wouldn’t support the number of Spring Fest attendees. Rosenblitt recommended that Spring Fest be inside to the SA E-Board, who agreed.
The show’s line will begin at 5:30 p.m. outside Alumni Arena and doors open at 6 p.m., according to the email. The festival will feature hip-hop and R&B artists Ty Dolla $ign, Daniel Caesar and A$AP Ferg.
“Despite the fact that we are inside, it’s going to be a really fun show that features diversity across the hip-hop spectrum. I’m still excited for it,” said Matt Cosmai, SA entertainment director.
About 6,100 students registered online for tickets and 5,000 have already picked them up at the SBI ticket office, according to Cosmai.
This year’s fest has a budget of roughly $400,000 for both production and talent, according to Rosenblitt, less than last year’s budget of $440,000. The fest is funded through the mandatory student activity fee of $104.75 per semester.
Brenton Blanchet is the senior arts editor and can be reached at Brenton.Blanchet@ubspectrum.com and @BrentBlanchSpec.
Brenton J. Blanchet is the 2019-20 editor-in-chief of The Spectrum. His work has appeared in Billboard, Clash Magazine, DJBooth, PopCrush, The Face and more. Ask him about Mariah Carey.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
