Man says he warned NRG Arena about concert dangers before Astroworld Festival
HOUSTON - One man says he warned NRG Arena of the dangers of concerts at NRG Park after attending one there two weeks ago. It’s NRG Arena at Playboi Carti’s show.
"Certainly that same feeling of bodies on bodies with nowhere to go. People with a lot of fear in their eyes," said Chris May, who went to the Playboi Carti show a couple of weeks ago at NRG Arena with his 16-year-old son.
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When they arrived at NRG, he said tensions were high already.
"We had a huge crowd descend from us on both sides behind us, and they literally lifted us off our feet, and pushed us up a good 10 or 15 feet," he said. "I’m there with my 16-year-old son just trying to do everything I can to protect him. I had my arms wrapped around him so no one could get into his chest, but it was terrifying."
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Luckily, they got out safely and Chris immediately emailed NRG saying in part: "You should be embarrassed by your crowd control plan for the Playboi Carti concert tonight….consider yourself lucky if no one was killed or seriously injured."
No response back. Fast forward two weeks later, the tragedy at AstroWorld. Both concerts were organized by Live Nation Entertainment. They’ve been in trouble before.
We obtained records on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration website showing that Live Nation has been fined or sued dating back to 10 years ago.
In 2018, an employee was walking near a staging area and struck by a 6-foot steel metal post and had to be hospitalized.
In 2012, an employee died after falling through a "false ceiling" on a stage That person wasn't wearing any safety belts or other protection.
"It seems like this was avoidable. With better planning and crowd control, these kinds of things can be prevented and they shouldn’t happen," said May.
Live Nation did post a message on social media this weekend saying: "Heartbroken for those lost and impacted at Astroworld last night. We will continue working to provide as much information and assistance as possible to the local authorities as they investigate the situation."