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Show ParkWest concerts best-attended ever With three concerts left in the ParkWest Resort series, United Concerts promoter J.C. McNeil is looking back at the longest and best-attended season he has had since starting the series in 1983. "The problems have been minimal," mini-mal," he said, and they will be minimal." Weather problems that plagued the series in past years have been infrequent this summer. And, in any event, McNeil has installed a stage with a roof in case of rain. He said he has a five-year ParkWest lease, starting this year, to continue the series. . At press time, the acts left in the series were of Sting on Aug. 26, Kenny Loggins on Aug. 28 and Ratt on Sept. 2. Motley Crue, originally scheduled for Aug. 21, has been moved to the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City because it can better hold the size of the production. A United Concerts press release noted, "the show has grown from four to seven spmi-traiW trunks can handle, due to the capacity of nearby parking areas and of Utah Highway 224. Two of the scheduled acts (Motley Crue and Ratt) generally are considered heavy-metal rock acts, but McNeil said that presented no special audience problems. "They'd be easier to handle than a Willie Nelson crowd," he said. According to the county concert ordinance, United Concerts must provide insurance for the events. National news stories now discuss the difficulty of obtaining liability insurance, but McNeil said he has not had a problem holding onto a policy because "I haven't made any claims and I've paid a lot of money." United Concerts also pays 25 cents an audience member to the county to cover its expenses, such as sheriff's patrols of traffic and health supervision. The county expects to receive a check this week for the concerts up to and including Don Henley. and is one of the largest to ever tour." When McNeil was asked to make estimates of audience attendance, he said the lowest turnout was about 2,000 people for Emmylou Harris. About 3,500 gathered to hear former Eagle Don Henley. County Sheriff Fred Eley estimated estimat-ed Santana drew an attendance of 3,000. But McNeil said other concerts Howard Jones, Tears for Fears, Crosby Stills and Nash and Night Ranger drew audiences of from 8,000 to 10,000 people. He said 10,000 is about as many as ParkWest |