On February 4, 2013 City Council unanimously passed Resolution 6-2013, which authorized the sale and consumption of alcohol on City property during the Labor Day weekend in support of the “Gentlemen of the Road” Stopover in Troy. Troy was selected from over 200 applications as one of three U.S. stopover festivals. Per the State of Ohio statistics, the statewide financial economic impact of this event should exceed $13 million. We understood in February as we do today that this is a truly unique, once in a lifetime opportunity for Troy to gain national and international notice. Early evidence of that was the pace of ticket sales, which were sold out within a few hours of announcement. 25,000 tickets – or “passports” – have been sold to fans in 48 states, DC, and five countries (UK, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, and Iceland). Excitement has not clouded our responsibility to ensure that this is as safe and hassle-free a weekend as possible. Staff, along with the Troy City Schools, Troy Main Street and others have been hard at work planning and/or ensuring the logistics are taken care of: police, fire, paramedic, street closing, signage, traffic control, waste management, marketing, and other related services. The next step for City Council is to pass a ‘notwithstanding’ ordinance that lays out the dates, times, venue size, scope of liquor sales, the local ordinances impacted, and other conditions that may be granted or thrust upon the event. I would like to make a presentation identifying what has been planned to date in all aspects and ask the Committee and other Council members if they have questions.

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Although details continue to be decided and confirmed, the major details have been determined and staff can begin reaching out for resources to provide required services. I would like to give you an overview of the weekend by answering five key questions.

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It’s important to stress again that details continue to be confirmed and will probably change. As the Mayor has stated, a lot of staff members, Troy Main Street, the Troy City Schools, and other groups have been hard at work planning for the safest event we can have. As we get closer to the event, planning meetings have been occurring as frequently as daily. However, as with any large event with multiple dimensions, details continue to emerge and evolve. So, what we know now as far as times, days, dates, and actual events may be altered as we get closer and closer to the event itself.

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www.gentlemenoftheroad.com/troy lists the eight (8) major acts that will perform at Troy Memorial Stadium during the festival weekend. Currently, over 25,000 passports – which are tickets that get the buyer into the downtown as well as the Stadium concerts – have been sold. The goal is to possibly sell as many as 27,000. As we all know, one of the unique qualities of this festival is the camping experience we expect many passport holders to take advantage of. To date, 10,000 of the passport holders have also bought a camping ticket. In addition, $5 wristbands will be sold each day for those who don’t have passports but want to enter the downtown venue and enjoy the various stages and entertainment that will be performed throughout. Troy Main Street is coordinating the need for 700-1,000 volunteers, who will be tasked with many different duties and who will be provided a community group stipend of some dollar amount, still yet to be determined. Again, staff from the City, Schools, Troy Main Street and other organizations have been hard at work, meeting weekly if not daily to coordinate the logistics of this event.

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At their most recent board meeting, the Troy City School Board approved the use of their property for camping and entertainment. Of course the Stadium will be the primary venue but the practice fields north of the Stadium, adjacent to the Troy Junior High School and High School was also approved for use. Part of their approval included granting the event the right to sell and consume alcohol on their property, provided they follow the appropriate rules, regulations, and laws. Some questions have been raised regarding the use of the Stadium, which bear clarifying. First, the stadium grass will be protected with a special permeable matting, similar to what is used at Columbus Crew stadium and other like sports venues that also book entertainment acts. Second, the scoreboard is NOT going to be removed during this event. Several sections of fencing will need to be temporarily removed to accommodate the crowds but those sections will be reinstalled after the festival by the event coordinators.

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The total scope and number of events during the weekend have not yet been finalized and are constantly evolving. However, at this time, we know that there is scheduled to be Stadium concerts both Friday and Saturday nights. In addition, the downtown will have rotating bands on the three small stages, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday when the venue is open and the festival is going on. At this point, there is a concert being planned at the Hobart Arena, immediately following Edward Sharpe’s Friday night concert at the stadium. The Arena concert would likely start at 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning and finish by 2:30 a.m. Note that it has previously been reported that The Flaming Lips will perform at the Arena after Edward Sharpe. However, that has not yet been confirmed or formally booked to date. A Busker is a street performer, street musician, minstrel, troubadour, or other entertainer who typical performs for gratuities or tips. Buskers will be scattered throughout the downtown during the festival, providing additional entertainment for wristband and passport holders. We expect that downtown businesses are going to have outdoor displays and entertainment of their own during the festival as well. There is a great deal of excitement and creative ideas are being explored to make the downtown a destination that weekend.

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To accommodate this festival on an otherwise busy Labor Day weekend, we expect to close the streets around the venue to vehicular traffic as early as Thursday, August 29th beginning at 12:01 a.m. and open them no later than Sunday August 31st at 5:00 p.m. At those same times, we expect to close the Great Miami River to all boat traffic, from just south of Treasure Island (the Adam Street bridge area) south to the dam. Campers will begin being checked in at noon on Thursday and are required to leave no later than by 5 p.m. on Sunday. They will be instructed to report to one or two central check in gates, where they will receive their camping site and parking space assignments. All camping will be “primitive.” In other words, no RVs, campers, etc. will be allowed – only tents. Campers will be required to park in their designated areas and carry their gear to their site. For convenience, parking assignments will be as close to the designated camp site as possible. We’ve planned since the beginning that Friday and Saturday would be all day festival days. One of the thrills of a festival of this size is the ability to expand the entertainment to provide many opportunities for visitors. One such opportunity, the details of which are still being developed, revolves around Thursday night downtown. What began as additional regional entertainment downtown to occupy and amuse early camper arrivals has expanded to allow any interested festival goer to purchase a wristband for that evening. All activity on Thursday, scheduled for after work hours only, will be confined to the downtown venue.

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The following page denotes the total venue bounded by a blue line. That blue line means that fencing, barricades, and/or building walls will create a physical barrier that no vehicles and no person will be able to cross without a wristband or passport. The blue boundary incorporates the central downtown area, travels north on Market Street over the bridge and then includes the ball fields, Troy Memorial Stadium and the campgrounds north of the Stadium. Note that Hobart Arena, Community Park, and probably the Troy Aquatic Park, will all be OUTSIDE of the enclosed blue venue. Within the blue line will be additional physical barriers, outlined in dotted yellow on the following map. Within the dotted yellow area will be the temporary liquor permit area. Within that area, upon approval by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control of an F-2 temporary liquor permit for Troy Main Street (who will be the applicant), festival goers will be able to buy and consume beer, wine, and certain low alcohol mixed drinks. There are many rules and regulations related to temporary liquor permits, particularly involving our nine (9) downtown liquor establishments and we will be working with the Ohio Liquor Control Board and Troy Main Street to meet with those businesses to explain the “do’s and don’t’s.” Finally, seven (7) campsites – designated A through G – are identified on the map. Note that none of the sites are within the dotted yellow lined temporary alcohol permit area. Sites A, B, C, and D are also outside of the blue area, as they are controlled by the Miami Conservancy District.

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This map shows the UPDATED (as of July 9, 2013) total enclosed venue. The blue lines denote where physical barriers (such as barricades, fencing, buildings, etc.) will close off the area to any vehicles, as well as any pedestrians who don’t have a passport or wristband. Within the blue line will be additional physical barriers, outlined in dotted yellow on this and the following maps. Within the dotted yellow line will be the temporary liquor permit area, where festival goers will be able to buy and consume beer, wine, and certain other liquor, upon approval by the Ohio Division of Liquor Control of an F-2 temporary liquor permit. Troy Main Street will apply for that permit. There are many rules and regulations related to temporary liquor permits, particularly involving our nine (9) downtown liquor establishments and we will be working with the Ohio Liquor Control Board and Troy Main Street to meet with those businesses to explain the “do’s and don’t’s.” Finally, seven (7) campsites – designated A through G – are identified on the map. Note that none of the sites are within the dotted yellow temporary alcohol permit area. Sites A, B, C, and D are also outside of the blue area, as they are on Miami Conservancy District land.

This map denotes the downtown portion of the closed venue. The ticket gates are designated by the purple boxes while proposed stage areas are designated by the yellow boxes. Again, the blue lines denote the closed venue and the orange line is the alcohol area. During the times of the festival, only wristband and passport holders will be allowed within the blue lined area. However, accommodations for the employees of the businesses adjacent to the blue lines will be made so that they have access to their businesses during the festival.

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Mayor Beamish and city staff from police, fire, project management, GIS, Engineering, Recreation, Parks and Administration have been working closely with Troy City Schools, Troy Main Street, and the event promoters to identify which city services will be required the week prior to and during the festival weekend. We are in the process of developing staffing schedules based on when and where performances are planned, event locations, estimated attendance, liquor booth locations, and other time/date/place information as it becomes available. All City direct costs, overtime and payments to outside agencies incurred during the festival will be reimbursed. Troy Main Street and the City will hold additional meetings with downtown residents and businesses to discuss the venue, logistics, workarounds, allowances, and other details. A separate meeting will be scheduled with the downtown liquor establishments to discuss what they can and can’t do under their licenses and what additional staffing they should employ for that weekend to safeguard against possible fines for violations. The Troy City Schools will provide buses and drivers to supply shuttle service for the festival. They will be reimbursed for these expenses. The primary shuttle route will run from/to WACO Airfield to Van Cleve School, using Dye Mill Road. The following page is a map of the current shuttle plan route. Note that in the event that a train stops on the Dye Mill Road crossing, shuttles will temporarily reroute up and down South Market Street.

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As you can see, this truly is a once-in-a-lifetime unique experience that few cities in the United States have or will experience. Given its complexity, and ever-evolving schedule, it has become commonplace in the past few months for our residents, businesses and other stakeholders to speculate, assume, or guess as to the details. Rumor management has been hard to coordinate in the absence of true details. We have only recently been able to answer many questions. The City and Troy Main Street both maintain Facebook pages, where information will continue to be posted as we know it. That site also provides and easy and quick forum for our “Friends” to post questions, comments and concerns, thus allowing us to quickly correct any misinformation or get the information out to as many as possible. The City also maintains a Twitter account, which will be used during festival weekend to post up to the minute changes that might be occurring. Finally, the City’s website will have updated information as it is available, at www.troyohio.gov. Troy Main Street also created a special page on their website, www.troymainstreet.org/faqs, to answer the rumors we’ve heard to date, the questions asked, and any other information we can provide. They have also provided an area on that page to allow visitors to ask additional questions that we can answer for everyone’s benefit.

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The City and festival promoter will have detailed detours in place for those who need to get around the festival during the weekend. We recognize this may be an inconvenience to those who won’t participate in the festival, so we are doing everything we can to make the detours as seamless and pain-free as possible. As mentioned earlier, the City and Troy Main Street, with the help of the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, will discuss the rules and regulations of the temporary liquor permit area and how they might affect the nine (9) downtown liquor permit establishments. We continue to reach out to other government agencies for assistance in filling shifts for police, fire, paramedic and possibly other services for this weekend. We are appreciative of their support, as we know the event would not be successful without them. Based on conversations with other municipalities, the influx of 35,000 people or more per day during this weekend could have a significant impact on cell phone coverage. City staff has verified that all major cell phone service providers in Troy (ATT, Verizon, Sprint/Boost, and T-mobile), will double (or even triple) their capacity that week. Finally, as with any major event, adjustments will have to be made on the fly dictated by crowds, behavior, weather, etc. Twitter and other social media will be used throughout the weekend to provide updates as things change.

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It’s important to reiterate that Mayor Beamish is committed to making this truly unique event a safe and pleasant experience for everyone, with lasting benefits to our community’s economic development efforts. This continues to be the “labor of love” of many dedicated professionals among City, Troy Main Street, Troy City Schools, and other staff and a great deal of time and effort is being devoted to ensure the festival’s success. Should anyone have any additional questions, comments or concerns, we ask that those either be added to the www.troymainstreet.org/faqs website or that those individuals call either Patrick Titterington, Troy City Director or Karin Manovich, Executive Director of Troy Main Street. It is very important as we get closer and closer to the big weekend that the correct, accurate, and detailed information be shared from a central location. As such, we have instructed our staffs not to attempt to answer questions but, instead, direct inquiries to Patrick or Karin.

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