Woodstock 50 organizers have their eyes on a smaller location following Watkins Glen permit loss
Despite numerous cancellation rumors, the loss of key investors, and most recently the loss of their location permit, Woodstock 50 is still apparently on. The festival is reportedly seeking a permit to host its event at Vernon Downs, a horse racing and casino town in Oneida County, near Utica, New York. The location change comes after previous location, Watkins Glen, NY officially pulled Woodstock’s permit. Watkins Glen put out an official release, citing, “Watkins Glen International terminated the site license for Woodstock pursuant to provisions of the contract. As such, WGI will not be hosting the Woodstock 50 Festival.”
Festival co-founder Michael Lang has not let these complications stop the planning from moving forward, but it remains to be seen whether this is the right approach for a festival that has been riddled with challenges from the outset. Woodstock 50 is still scheduled to go on from August 16-18, but due to the location change, it will be much smaller than initially planned. The proposed capacity of the event is now 45,000-50,000 people, which is significantly smaller than the 150,000 originally planned, and smaller than the approximately 70,000 people planned for the previous site, Watkins Glen International raceway. Although the festival is less than two months away, tickets are still not on sale due to the multiple investment and location issues that have arisen.
H/T: Variety
Photo Credit: Elliott Landy
Categories: News