Rod Stewart at Shrewsbury: Club could host more big name concerts
The chief executive of Shrewsbury Town Football Club has said he will look to build on the success of this week's Rod Stewart's concert by preparing a template for similar events in the future.
Speaking the morning after the Greenhous Meadow concert Brian Caldwell said he had already received positive feedback from people who had attended the event, and that staff would now hold a debrief to learn the lessons of how it went.
He also revealed that he had only finally relaxed after the concert, which attracted more than 15,000 people, finished last night, and that he had been relieved to see green grass as the production company starting removing the stage from the pitch yesterday morning.
He said: "They had lifted some of the stage area and I could see some green grass and it was quite a pleasant view because I was quite worried that the whole pitch would not be green."
Mr Caldwell, who thanked the club's staff and safety officer Alan Robert for the three months of planning that went into the event, said they would now discuss what had worked and what hadn't.
He said: "I was pleased and I think obviously when you have got an event of that magnitude, that many people coming there, there will always be lessons to learn going forward and that is for all of us. We will have a debrief with all of the staff involved about how we can do things better but we got everyone in very well and we have had quite a few e-mails this morning saying what a great venue it was and what a great concert it was.
"We will speak to all the people we need to speak to and look at every aspect of it operationally, what could have worked better and how if we did do it again we can have a template if we have the right opportunity.
"It is about getting the right name to the stadium. There is no point having it half full but it is about us being ready if that opportunity comes along."
Mr Caldwell said he was very pleased with the way they had managed to get the concert-goers into the stadium, but that they would look at the way people left, with many wanting to get buses at the same time - largely due to the weather.
He said: "We did comprehensive searches and ticket checks, and we moved people through the area well. There were queues at times but when you have got 15,000 people with security checks there will always be some queuing.
"There was a lot of good feedback from people who said it was the first time they have been and that is was fantastic.
"Everyone seemed to really enjoy the concert, Rod put on a great show and I am sure everyone who was there had a great time."
Asked if he had enjoyed the evening Mr Caldwell said: "I don't think I relaxed until it was over! It was only when the car park cleared that I could start to relax a bit."
