The City of Edmonton says staff followed all emergency protocols on Saturday night at Commonwealth Stadium, when a severe thunderstorm forced the stoppage of a concert attended by 31,000 people. At about 9 p.m., the set by Post Malone was cut short as high winds and heavy rain swept over the north-central outdoor venue, forcing fans to seek shelter inside its concourse or leave to find cover elsewhere. The city said staff directed the crowd via audio and video messages to leave the seating area for the concourse, where it said there was enough room for everyone in attendance to shelter from the storm that produced lightning, high winds and dropped 30 millimetres of rain on the city over two hours. They also opened gates for people who chose to leave, the city said. One spectator who stayed inside the stadium concourse, however, said they weren’t allowed to leave and wonders if more could’ve been done at the time. Andrea Edel, who was sitting at field level, described a harrowing scene with people crying, shouting, pushing and fighting. She said she hoped they would’ve been directed off the field via a players’ entrance on the south end but were told to head up the stairs to the ground-level concourse. “Think of thousands of people in that stadium trying to flee into one small area on both sides,” she told CTV News Edmonton on Sunday, adding she didn’t see a security guard during the emergency. “It was a disaster.” The city said Monday the indoor recreation centre adjacent to the stadium would’ve been the safest option and was available but that concert-goers would have “had to travel around the stadium to get there.” The city said 510 security guards, 115 ushers and customer service staff, and 125 event staff as well as emergency personnel such as police and paramedics were on duty for the concert. Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the concert promoter, are offering full refunds to people who attended Saturday’s show. Edel says she hopes such a situation such as Saturday’s at Commonwealth “never happens again.” “Hopefully going forward, they can better plan where they can situate people in an emergency.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug
