Editorial: Red-hot concerns

Wednesday, June 22, 2005 | 9:33 a.m.

Organizers of the city of Las Vegas' centennial celebration originally chose the asphalt parking lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center for the free concert by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The site has now been moved to the Clark County-owned soccer fields next to Sam Boyd Stadium.

With the concert scheduled for July 2, when the temperature is apt to be 100 degrees or more, the move to a grassy area was necessary. The parking lot would have radiated heat throughout the anticipated crowd of 50,000-plus. Additionally, traffic control would have been extremely difficult in that already congested area off the Strip.

But the move to the wide open soccer fields also has its problems. While this concert is free, attendance is limited to those who hold tickets, which were distributed weeks ago. The city's centennial committee had better think of a way to enclose the fields, so that ticket holders don't get crowded out by people crashing the concert.

The county would also be wise, in its lease agreement, to hold the city and centennial committee responsible for security at the site, for injuries that might occur, for repairing the soccer fields afterward and for any and all cleanup.