Mansfield’s XFinity Concert Center - New England’s Most Dangerous Place

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Jack Andrade, GoLocal Reporter

In the past 2.5 seasons the concert venue in Mansfield, MA has been the site of more than 2,100 arrests and detentions during just 81 concert nights. The XFinity Center (previous called Comcast, Tweeter and Great Woods) was also the source of hundreds of hospitalizations and recently one alleged rape.

The facility- which offers shows ranging from Jimmy Buffett to Linkin Park- may be the most dangerous location in New England.

Statistically per event there are more than 26 arrests and incarcerations and many more are taken to the hospital.

Troubling Statistics

Local officials have been dealing with concerns over the Xfinity Center all summer, with the venue incurring a $3,066 fine for breaking curfew and experiencing a medical nightmare that saw hundreds need medical treatment for heat and dehydration-related symptoms in July alone.

According to data obtained from the Mansfield Police Department, 803 people have been arrested and another 1,315 have been taken into protective custody at the Xfinity Center since 2012. Records from Xfinity center’s ticketing website livenation.com reflect that there have been 81 events held at the venue in that time period.

See Detailed Statistics Below

Compare that with the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, an indoor arena that seats nearly two-thirds the amount of people (12,400 for the Dunk, 19,900 for Xfinity Center), yet Dunkin Donuts Center officials told GoLocalProv that not a single arrest has taken place at any of the 21 concerts held there since 2012.

Xfinity’s “Mass Casualty” Nightmare

An alleged rape took place at Xfinity Center during a recent Keith Urban concert, and officials on scene declared a “mass casualty incident” due to the alarming number of sick and/or injured concertgoers. 55 people were arrested and 22 others were hospitalized from the event, predominantly with alcohol-related symptoms.

Keith Urban

“It’s not the location, it’s the group that comes,” said Colonel Steven O’Donnell of the Rhode Island State Police. “If it’s a group of people that are intoxicated or impaired-either alcohol or drugs- those places should hire enough public safety personnel to ensure that we aren’t shipping people day in and day out to the hospital with rescues and ambulances.”

Mansfield Chairman of Selectman George Dentino is making a political push to remove the lawn seating from the Xfinity Center, the site of the alleged rape incident.

“In a full house you have about 7,000 people out there elbow to elbow in the grass,” Dentino said. “It lends itself to altercations.”

“There’s no problem if the people don’t come in impaired, or get themselves impaired or intoxicated through drugs,” Dentino continued, adding that the lawn area is attractive to individuals using drugs or alcohol because it is not well-lit and difficult to supervise. “We see a lot of drugs coming in with pills.”

Security Efforts

Dentino believes the law enforcement have put in an admirable effort trying to contain an impossible situation at Xfinity Center.

“The Mansfield police have been exceptional out there, the Mansfield Fire have been super,” Dentino said, specifying that there is a pat-down system in place at the gate to Xfinity Center. “They do a nice job at the lawn, but they can’t control the lawn. You can’t use 7, 9, 10 people up there for 7,000 [fans].”

O’Donnell said Providence Police are predominantly in charge of security at the Dunk, but the state police work in conjunction with URI Police and South Kingstown Police to provide security and law enforcement at Ryan Center events.

“At the Ryan Center we set up teams of police with South Kingstown and URI Police in the parking lots to make sure people are not using alcohol in the parking lots and/or narcotics. Obviously we can’t stop everything because of the world we live in,” O’Donnell said, adding that law enforcement pays attention to the past results of music demographics and their audiences in other cities.

“It’s not the music that they’re playing, it’s just the crowd that gets together and they’re using alcohol and drugs,” O’Donnell said. “In my opinion it’s not a law enforcement issue or an EMS issue- it’s a parental issue. You’ve got to know where your kids are going, no matter what age they are. Nobody wants their child injured or sick or dying.”

What’s the Solution?

O’Donnell said strict policies on what can be brought in to venues are a necessity. He also noted that he’s seen positive results from using social media to make a security presence known at these types of events.

O’Donnell said venues can’t pinch pennies on security, but ultimate responsibility lies in the people attending the event.

“It’s not cost-effective for law enforcement, especially how much money a venue like that makes. But if you’re going to pay police and fire- especially rescue- to take someone to the hospital, then the cost of shipping those people should have just been used to prevent them,” O’Donnell said. “I’m not sure what the answer is to protect someone from becoming impaired.”

Dentino has been advocating for “a number of years” to replace the lawn setting with traditional seating, and he’s now arguing for better lighting and a tower that can be used to span the entire crowd.

“If you get them out of standing against each other and get them in a seat, it’s a lot easier to control the situation. And if you can see, and if we get a tower up there, you can span everything,” Dentino said. “It’s something that I think has to occur.

“It’s not going to go anywhere this year because we’re too close to the end of the season, but I think there’ll be discussions on this when the season is over,” Dentino said. “But in the interim I’d like to see the shrubs cut, the lighting better, and more personnel up there.”

Dentino said the Mansfield Fire chief and Police chief will devise a plan and that will be presented to the selectmen for consideration. He is hopeful that changes will be made to the Xfinity Center, but also wants changes that will

“For the most part our juveniles are our problem. They primary purpose for coming here for most of them is to party. The music is secondary to the party atmosphere that’s developed from these young kids,” Dentino said, pointing to the Keith Urban concert as a prime example. “It’s the fans that are the problem with country. It’s not the performers getting anyone into a frenzy. The fan base now is mostly 15-28 years of age, predominantly female, whereas that was never the case back 10-12 years ago.“

As a community leader in Mansfield, Dentino said the town needs events at the Xfinity Center to be safer going forward.

“We want people from out of town- the parents that send their kids to these events- to think their kids are safe,” Dentino said. “We’re trying to control a big crowd, and a very, very impaired crowd of young people coming in.”