Allen Johnson, executive director at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida, briefs Orlando venue staff in preparation for Hurricane Matthew. (Photo courtesy of Kirk Wingerson)
After making landfall in the United States on Oct. 8, more than a few venues in the Southeast region of the country prepared for the worst. Thanks in large part to modern technology, effective planning and cooperation, many got through the storm with only light damage and good lessons learned for the future.
Oscar Sales, marketing director at the Riverside Theatre in Vero Beach, Fla., spoke to the success of his venue’s hurricane preparedness program. Four days before the hurricane came, the facility took a cohesive approach to making sure every facet of the building was ready for anything. From making sure backup generators and batteries were fully charged to turning away actors for an upcoming production of “Ring of Fire,” the theatre covered all of its bases to great effect.
“It really worked very well,” said Sales. “We were able to batten down the hatches and make sure that everything was safe and secure, that people knew what was going on, that we internally also covered all our electronics and what-not to make sure that if there was any damage, it would be minimal.”
Scheduling presented an especially potent challenge for the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla. Executive Director Allen Johnson said that after consulting with his team, they decided to push four Garth Brooks shows scheduled to be spread one per day from Thursday Oct. 6 to Sunday Oct. 9 to two per day on Saturday and Sunday.
“So that meant, if things held, we would have a 3 p.m. show and a 7 p.m. show on Saturday, and then a 3 p.m. and a 7 p.m. show on Sunday,” said Johnson. “And that is what occurred.”
Johnson said having close contact with emergency services through his city contacts helped tremendously. Thursday saw curfews put in place and advisories to stay off the road by 6 p.m., at which point his team sat tight and kept a skeleton crew at the facility, since the show was already loaded in and critical systems needed to be monitored.
Friday saw the worst of the storm, even though it did not make a direct hit on Orlando. Johnson said at one point 600,000 homes in the metro area lost power, which affected traffic signals. At 2 p.m. on Friday he spoke with the emergency operations center and the mayor to make sure they would have the resources they needed to carry on with the newly scheduled shows.
The support was confirmed, and everything went ahead as planned. Garth Brooks flew into Orlando on Friday night, and according to Johnson, “It was amazing.”
He said the turnaround between shows was a challenge, since Brooks played from 3:20 p.m. to 5:40 p.m., at which point over 14,000 people left the building, and the venue’s staff had to get ready for 18,000 more people to come in for the second show in 40 minutes.
“We did it, and it wasn’t easy, but the show went on,” said Johnson. “I’m just really proud of our crew and how they handled it and made it work.”
In the wake of the storm, helpful neighbors have also been a critical part of literally keeping the show going. Numa C. Saisselin, president of the Florida Theatre in Jacksonville, Fla., said that his venue was taking actions he had never taken before by hosting the band Needtobreathe after the nearby St. Augustine (Fla.) Amphitheatre was unable to provide a place for the show.
“I’m not quite sure how we’re going to pull this off yet, but in about 24 hours we’re going to do a show that we didn’t know about a couple hours ago,” said Saisselin. He said he had never had a show that was ticketed elsewhere, but that the Florida Theatre would use the St. Augustine seating chart and apply it to their venue.
“Fortunately Needtobreathe has been here as well, so there are not completely unknown factors at play,” Saisselin said. “We’re happy we can help them out.”
The buffer provided by the state park surrounding the St. Augustine Amphitheatre helped to lighten the blow on the venue. Only minor damage to signage and lamps was left behind, according to Ryan Murphy, director of cultural affairs for St. Johns County, St. Augustine Amphitheatre & Ponte Vedra Concert Hall. Even so, Murphy said the venue will wait for structural inspections to be completed before opening again for business.
“It was really built in a way to prepare for something like this,” said Murphy, praising the architectural strengths of the facility. “We never want to see something like this happen, but we’re going in with minimal damage, and we’re just erring on the side of caution.” Murphy was grateful for the good fortune enjoyed by his venue as opposed to the nearby Davis Shores, which looked like “ground zero” after the hurricane. He shared that many of the amphitheater’s staff had lost their homes and belongings as well.
The canopy element at the St. Augustine (Fla.) Amphitheatre resisted the storm well. (Photo courtesy of St. Augustine Amphitheatre)
With the significant losses to the community, Murphy said his team is waiting to throw big events in the near future.
“Even if we were up and running and wanting to throw a concert, there are literally people across the street that don’t have power and have lost their houses,” he said. Murphy shared that there are already efforts to “help the area rebuild” by putting together a benefit concert with local talent and radio stations.
“We’re just trying to pull together as a community and put it all back together,” said Murphy.
Interviewed for this article: Allen Johnson, (407) 440-7070; Ryan Murphy, (904) 209-3741; Numa C. Saisselin, (904) 355-5661; Oscar Sales, (772) 410-047