BRANSON, Mo.- Night one of the Garth Brooks concerts brought a headache for many fans, as they waited hours in traffic.
Fans say they were at a stand-still from Ridgedale, all the way to Hollister on Highway 86. Headlights shine on Highway 86 as state troopers direct traffic.
Getting out to the arena most had to sit in traffic for almost an hour and a half, even longer. After speaking with some of the concert goer’s some say they were very frustrated with the traffic getting to tonight’s concert.
Here’s a look at fans slowly driving into parking lots while others wait for a shuttle. now the concert is underway.
SGT. Clint Mason says he has worked events but hasn’t seen anything this big before.
“There’s just not too many ways into the venue. So, when you have a big artist like Garth Brooks and it draws a lot of people. I’ve been on it for about 25 years. I’ve done some events like this one, but nothing to this scale. This is a lot of people trying to put in.” said Mason.
For some, the drive for night two of the Garth Brooks concert was a breeze.
“We’re from Kansas City, Missouri, and the drive was pretty pleasant. We took it was 7 to 13 south most of the way, and the traffic was a little dense, but we never had to stop really.” said a concertgoer.
But for others, it was a nightmare.
“It said 12 minutes delay and it’s been 2 hours. And so, we were sitting there, and people were trying to cut in and a lot of people were getting upset about it” said another concertgoer.
Fans who took Highway 65 say they sat and waited for more than two hours on the road. After getting off the highway, many people had to walk to get to the arena. Others were able to ride shuttle buses from the offsite parking.
“It’s so slow getting in that we are trying to shut down the highway at times just to get the shuttle busses through or emergency vehicles. We’ve had to do it for an ambulance” said Mason.
Even with all the traffic and backup, everyone is still excited about the show. But some say they may leave early to beat the traffic later tonight.
“We’re super excited. My dad was a big Garth Brooks fan, and he died when I was a kid. So when I heard he was coming to town, I was like, Oh, man, I have to go see Garth,” said a concertgoer.
The concert started on Saturday night around 7:00 pm. Garth Brooks’s last concert at the Thunder Ridge Arena will be Sunday, October 2nd.