Travis McCready of Bishop Gunn was set to have the first socially distanced concert at the TempleLive venue in Fort Smith, Arkansas, however this event has now come under fire from the Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Hutchinson stated that the upcoming event was non-compliant with the state’s current Department of Health directives for indoor entertainment venues, as it exceeds their limit cap for an audience.
Hutchinson allowed indoor venues such as theaters, arenas and stadiums to reopen next week as long as they limited their audiences to fewer than 50 people. The upcoming concert is slated to allow up to 229 people in its audience, although the venue typically holds 1,100 people.
The venue was enforcing strict social distancing rules, with fans expected to sit at least 6 feet apart per group in what Ticketmaster calls “fan pods.” These pods host two to 12 seats , to avoid mingling between separate groups, while other measures such as mandatory face masks and a 10-person limit on each bathroom (with hands free soap and paper towel dispensers) were also put in place.
The venue has disagreed with the governor’s recent announcement, calling it “discriminatory” as the current order allows places such as churches and schools to operate under the directive.
“The directive is discriminatory because the virus does not know if it’s in a body in church or high school or a music venue,” said Mike Brown, a representative for Temple Live, in an interview. “Not that I have anything against church, but if you can go to a church and it’s a public assembly, there is no difference. How is it OK for one group to have a public meeting and it’s not OK for a music venue to have the same opportunity?”
The governor disagreed in a recent statement, reiterating his assertion event does not comply with the guidelines.
“As advertised, this concert does not comply with our Department of Health directives for indoor entertainment venues,” Hutchinson said. “I appreciate the venue owners’ working to enforce social distancing and the wearing of masks to protect the concertgoers, but the concert remains outside of the state’s pandemic directive.”
Fort Smith’s Mayor George B. McGill has also stated that he will be complying with the state’s policy for reopening concerts, although he hopes both parties can find a resolution. “My hope is that everybody cools off and let’s be ’60s cool for a minute and work together,” the mayor said in an interview with The New York Times.
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