Data to Help Police, Fire Better Staff Xfinity Center Shows

MANSFIELD, MA — The Xfinity Center and Mansfield public safety officials hope to use venue data as a part of an effort to better staff shows at the music amphitheater.

The update came Wednesday night prior to the selectmen’s approval of the entertainment license for the Xfinity Center’s summer concerts. Xfinity Center General Manager Jeff Mann said that the data can help police and fire decide where a larger detail is needed or which shows can use a smaller public safety presence.

“We look at the types and genre of music, that’s the indicator,” he said. “I feel we can better predict which shows might be light lifting and which ones are going to be problematic.”

The majority of the discussion was dedicated to reducing the administrative fee for fire and police details from 10 percent to 5 percent. According to Selectman Jess Aptowitz, the cost of police and fire details last year was about $1 million, with $100,000 in administrative fees.

“If Joe Smith Paving is doing a paving job and has a detail, let’s say it’s a policeman $50 an hour for four hours, that’s a $200 bill, there’s a 10 percent add-on. If there is a $25,000 show at Xfinity, I don’t think it cost us $2,500 to do that work,” Aptowitz said.

The decrease in administrative fees will not have an effect on the police and fire staffing level for shows.

Board members also praised the relationship between the Xfinity Center and the town, with Selectman George Dentino noting that they are in a much better place than they were seven years ago.

“We’re working in harmony down there and that’s what’s made it a welcoming place at this time. I think everybody has to take some applause for that,” Dentino said.

The first concert this year is JAM'N 94.5 presents Future: Nobody Safe Tour on May 23. The first event will be the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth commencement which takes place on May 13 and 15.

Click here to see the 2017 Xfinity Center concert schedule.

Image: File Photo