A week , organizers have announced that the three-day music festival will now take place at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
“Although dozens of venues were interested in hosting the event, organizers chose the stadium for several factors, one of which being that stadium management have allowed Riot Fest to recreate Byers, Colorado and May Farms on the new fest grounds,” Riot Fest said in a news release.
Riot Fest was originally scheduled to bring 17,000 people to May Farms in the small town of Byers east of Denver, but Arapahoe County denied organizers permits to hold the event.
“Riot Fest made many friends in the Byers community, and it truly saddens organizers to be forced to move the fest away from its inaugural home,” the news release says.
In her letter of denial, Arapahoe County Zoning Administrator Tammy King said Byers had “a general sense of being overrun with traffic and people” from Riot Fest in 2013.
“These impacts included residents having difficulty in getting their vehicles in and out of their driveways, substantial difficulties in traveling to obtain groceries and other essential services, difficulty in getting to and from work, (and) difficulty in conducting farm trucking activities,” she wrote.
Riot Fest organizers are offering any Byers resident a complementary ticket to the festival and a free shuttle from Byers to the new location. Additionally, Riot Fest says it will allow several Byers businesses free vending space.
All tickets at the new location will be honored and refunds are available for anyone who purchased a camping pass.
Riot Fest made its first Colorado appearance at May Farms in Byers in 2013.
This year, Riot Fest is scheduled to bring acts such as Weezer, the Cure, Wu-Tang Clan and the National.
Reverb Managing Editor Matt Miller contributed to this report.
John Aguilar: 303-954-1695, jaguilar@denverpost.com or twitter.com/abuvthefoldFollow our news and updates on Twitter, our relationship status on Facebook and our search history on Google +. Or send us a telegram.
