Quite a bit…. Originally when we moved to the Arena we quickly became aware there had been issues at previous events of a certain size which were held here. This ultimately led to us having to build confidence and trust with authorities regarding us reintroducing events especially concerts. The stadium is unique in that it is on the outskirts of town and flanked on one side by a major Highway in the A66 and local residents and community to the other side and whilst the Arena itself can easily cope with 10,15, 20 thousand spectators the local transport network struggles. The number one priority at any event we hold at the arena is Spectators safety, we want people to attend events both sporting and non-sporting, enjoy the experience and to get home safely. This takes planning but also learning from previous events to understand people’s mindsets when they attend such events. The build up and planning for any event over with an attendance of +4000 spectators starts at least 6 months in advance and involves Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting regularly. The SAG consists of Durham Constabulary Police, local Authority, Environmental Health, Highways England, Local highways, North east Ambulance Service, Fire & rescue, Counter Terrorism Police, the concert promoters and ourselves as Venue.

What does a typical “concert week” look like for you? How much work goes on behind the scenes?

If we say the concert is on a Saturday, the week usually begins with an early site visit on Monday with the promoters Head of Operations and Build Coordinator to finalise site plans and locations of food and bar concessions, back stage and changing areas, stage positioning and entry/egress points. Flooring for the stage section is then brought in on the Tuesday ready for the stage to be built which takes 2 days, it really is something watching the team build a stage that size in 2 days. Wednesday/Thursday whilst the build continues we finalise numbers and anticipated walk up to confirm entry numbers and Shuttle Bus requirements from town to the arena and back, visits with the local authority, police and Fire service during the week to ensure they are happy with the layout as planned in the SAG groups. Friday sees all of the Lighting and Sound equipment being brought in as well as bar builds and food outlets positioned. This is also final checks on the Arena itself including all the toilets, sinks, bins, seating areas, walkways and external car park areas.

Friday and Saturday are stop over nights so will stay on site to meet the tour buses who begin to arrive from 02:00 in the morning through to 6ish. Catering and artists begin to arrive throughout the day as we build up to gates opening and then it is full on for the 6 or 7 hours until midnight when hopefully everyone has enjoyed themselves and got home safely. This is then clear up time for us, as we are conscious of the local area we like to try and clean the local streets of any litter which may have come from the concert goers followed by the stadium clear up.

We have relied heavily on volunteers over the years to come and help clean seats and walkways at the arena especially those that haven’t been used for a while, the volunteers are incredible and when asked to help they come at all times of day and night when they can to give up their time. Not only would this take weeks to do on our own it would also cost a large amount of money, I really can’t thank the DMP Volunteers enough for all their time and effort.

Can you give us an insight into how bands / artists are selected for shows at the Arena?

This all comes down to the promoters and who they see as fitting at the Arena. Things they take into consideration are timings with tours and other dates, anticipated crowd size, support acts and infrastructure. The company we work with discuss with us options they may have but as I mentioned before we just really like having concerts here and the people of the North East love a night out so we have been in lucky in that all the concerts to date have been well supported.

What do you think has been our most successful concert so far and why?

I think it has to be the Olly Murs/Tom Jones doubler header weekend. It was certainly the busiest from a crowd perspective but also the workload was massive and although it took a lot to organise the feedback was brilliant. In fairness we have always had great feedback regarding the stadium facility and the spectator experience which is what we are looking for.

From a personal standpoint how difficult has it been to manage music events as opposed to sport? Have you enjoyed the challenge?

Sporting events are different in that we generally know the audience and how they will behave, whereas a concert has a different dynamic with people sitting and others standing on the pitch, alcohol consumption increases and its at night which brings other challenges such as the transport and egress from the Arena. I wouldn't say I prefer one to the other but feel more at ease and at home on a sporting event. Concerts we rely heavily on many people doing their jobs and doing them right whether that be stewards, medics, promoters, artists, transport agencies and so on.

What have been the biggest challenges in holding such large-scale events?

This has to be the traffic management….we have seen over the years with different events in and around Darlington if the traffic management isn’t planned and executed correctly it can cause chaos, especially with the numbers we are talking about. I am not saying we have always got it right, for example the international double header back in 2015 was a massive learning curve for us in terms of managing traffic flow an understanding what people will and won’t do basically human behaviour. We keep learning at every event and sit with the police, highways and council after every large event to de-brief and put measures in place for the next event. Whilst we have put a lot of systems in place some people will still do the unexpected. Every time we hold an event we try to minimise disruption and any restrictions we put in place are there for peoples safety.

How important is it for the club to hold these types of events?

Massively, it isn’t just about the income received by the club to host such events. If it was, we would go as big as we can, take more risk with greater rewards and not worry as much about our surroundings. The club benefits from having non-sports spectators attend the venue, many for the first time, and realise such a facility is right on the doorstep. We must also ensure we cause the least disruption to the local community and local residents, taking into account their needs and wishes whilst ensuring it is safe and enjoyable experience for those attending.

Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for 2024 and beyond?

We are currently in talks with our concert promoters as to what next year looks like, we are keen to have more concerts as well as sporting events such as the Papa Johns Community Cup Finals, which were a great success last year, and one day hopefully a return of international rugby fixtures to the Arena. The Arena is here and we need to work as hard as we can to keep events going here at the club.

To find out more about large scale events at the Darlington Arena, please email events@mowdenpark.com