Another concert, another traffic jam at Carter-Finley Stadium. What’s the holdup?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chris Brown concert at Carter-Finley triggered major traffic jams.
- NC State University, local law enforcement and parking vendors coordinated operations.
- NCSU and Oak View Group plan more concerts; review aims to improve traffic.
It’s not like this hasn’t happened before. Big concerts at Carter-Finley Stadium by the likes of U2, The Rolling Stones and Beyoncé are remembered as much for the epic traffic jams they caused as for anything that happened on stage.
And so it will be for Chris Brown, whose Carter-Finley debut Tuesday night was marred by such traffic snarls that some people parked along the highway and walked and others missed the show altogether.
Some who did make it to the parking lots reported problems finding spaces. Some lots normally available were occupied because of the N.C. State Fair, which opens Thursday.
So what went wrong, and what might prevent these problems at future events? Who’s responsible for coordinating traffic around the stadium?
Raleigh police said N.C. State University police and the State Highway Patrol handled traffic operations for the Chris Brown show. A spokesman for the Highway Patrol said his agency “was not overseeing this,” and referred questions to NCSU.
University spokesman Mick Kulikowski issued a statement that said N.C. State, local law enforcement and parking vendors developed a “complex operations plan” for the concert, with the understanding that it would coincide with rush hour traffic and be affected by the State Fair.
“In the days prior to the concert, a coordinated communications effort advised attendees to arrive early to avoid traffic, and parking lots opened at 2 p.m. — five hours prior to showtime,” Kulikowski said. “This message was reinforced on social media, while real-time traffic and parking updates were also provided.” “As always,” he concluded, “a comprehensive review will be conducted with all involved agencies to ensure continued improvement for future special events.”
And there will be future events. N.C. State athletics has partnered with Oak View Group, a Denver company focused on venue development, management and hospitality services, for live events, in hopes of booking more concerts at Carter-Finley. It’s not clear what role Oak View Group played, if any, in coordinating parking and traffic on Tuesday.
A history of traffic problems around Carter-Finley
The challenges of putting on an event at Carter-Finley Stadium are well known. The place has nearly 57,000 seats and can hold more on the field for concerts, and nearly all of those people can be expected to come by car. Only one GoRaleigh bus route goes near the stadium, and few if any people get there on foot.
The stadium draws big crowds six or seven times each fall for Wolfpack football games. And while traffic for those is heavy, there are factors that make it less horrendous.
For starters, the games are typically on a weekend, when fans can arrive hours in advance. NC State’s strong tailgate culture owes at least a bit to people wanting to avoid a pre-game traffic jam. The National Hockey League and the Carolina Hurricanes encouraged fans to arrive up to six hours before the Stadium Series hockey game at Carter-Finley in 2023.
Many football fans know the routine, and also know the various options for getting to the stadium, regardless of what their traffic apps might tell them. They also don’t typically share the road with weekday commuters.
None of that is true for a Tuesday night Chris Brown concert, just as it wasn’t for the Beyoncé show in 2016 or The Rolling Stones the year before. Many concertgoers for these weeknight events traveled from outside Raleigh and didn’t plan to come hours in advance or know their way around the stadium.
