Fans Jump Onto Stage at Concert in Brookdale Mall in Brooklyn Center, MN

[Eric J in MN]

http://www.speakspeak.org/speak-blog/2005/11/12/fans-jump-onto-stage-at-b5-concert-in-minnesota/

As a general rule, concerts should only be given in places where the audience sits on an incline, whether it's indoor stadium seating or an outdoor slope.

The risk otherwise is that the audience will surge towards the stage as they try to see the performers.

There have been successful outdoor concerts on flat ground, like assorted concerts in Central Park. It's not impossible for that to succeed, but it's risky.

There have also been lots of concerts where the audience is on flat ground, and this sort of thing happens:

Chaos at a concert in a mall near Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Brookdale Mall in Brooklyn Center:

...just as B5 finished its first song -- "You Got Me" -- and started the second, an enthusiastic fan jumped on the stage. Within seconds, the crowd surged forward and onto the stage, sparking what one witness called "total chaos."

Witnesses and law enforcement officials said several girls were stepped on, the band was whisked to safety, and the Brooklyn Center mall was cleared and closed for more than two hours.

Four people were taken to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale where they were treated for minor injuries and released. Five others were treated at the scene.

Brooklyn Center police officials said no one was arrested.

"I was right in front," said (Amber) Andrews of Minneapolis. "Girls were running on stage, security guards were throwing them off. The girls were tearing off clothes."

...When asked if there was enough security at the event, Shelley Klaessy, the mall's marketing director, said more than 20 people were working the concert -- 10 mall security guards and at least 11 Radio Disney personnel.

"I think we pulled together the right amount," Klaessy said.

Malls are usually bad places to have a concert, because of the flat-ground issue which causes the audience to surge towards the stage.