ACL Festival

Park's dust busted

Shows at Zilker won't be watered down, but patrons will be

By Joe Gross
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, September 14, 2006

Two days before the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Zilker Park looks as green as the New Zealand mountains filmed in "The Lord of the Rings." During last year's ACL fest, the park looked and felt like the gritty Australian Outback of "Mad Max."

Last year, with hot air forced into Austin by Hurricane Rita, the temperature hit an awe-inspiring 108 degrees on Sept. 25, the festival's final day.

Dry conditions and tens of thousands of fans stomping around sent dust clouds into the air and into everyone's lungs. Hundreds of attendees tied handkerchiefs or shirts over their mouths as the dust turned into mud on their sweaty skin.

The only thing missing was Mel Gibson on a motorcycle. (Plenty of tattoos, however.)

Despite holding the festival a week earlier this year, ACL organizers swear dust won't bother, and the temperature is not likely to top 96 degrees, 5 degrees cooler than the fest's coolest day last year, according to the National Weather Service. The Weather Service calls for cloudy skies with slight chances of thunderstorms Sunday and Sunday night. Lows at night should be in the 70s. No hurricane threatens.

Zilker Park has been outfitted with sprinklers, misting tents, free drinking water and plenty of artificial shade, thanks to a partnership between the City of Austin and the festival's producers, Capital Sports and Entertainment/Charles Attal Presents.

Other changes include a new shuttle stop at Republic Square and additional bike racks on site.

Local touches have been added to the giant stages. The scrims covering the massive speaker systems have photos of notable Austin icons printed on them: Barton Springs, the old Armadillo World Headquarters and Daniel Johnston's "Hi, How Are You" frog graffiti are just three.

Hydration!

The big changes revolve around the heat.

The organizers are paying half the estimated $500,000 to $700,000 cost of an elaborate irrigation system for Zilker. The entire installation is expected to take three years, but the first and second stages, including a sprinkler system and a potable water system, are complete.

"Anyone who has been out to the park will notice that the grass is very, very green," Capital Sports spokeswoman Lisa Schickel said. "We started working on these issues early this summer."

Co-producer Charles Attal agreed: "This year will be a very different experience in terms of the dust."

In the event of rain, the festival will proceed.

"Some sets may be delayed if the weather necessitates," Schickel said. "However, we will always put the patrons' and artists' safety first."

As part of the irrigation system, 48 drinking water spigots are now available in the park. Patrons, who are allowed to bring in two sealed water bottles, maximum 1 liter apiece, will be able to refill the bottles from the free water stations.

The number of heat-relief areas has also increased: Capital Sports promises twice the shade and triple the misting compared with 2005.

A well-known feature of the festival has also been revamped.

"The kids' beach has been changed," Schickel said, speaking of the kids' area and volleyball court. "A portion of the beach is now a Tiki-themed tent and misting area."

The city seems pleased with the whole arrangement. According to Jay Stone, division manager of finance for the Parks and Recreation Department, the festival has an excellent relationship with the city.

"This event costs the taxpayers nothing," Stone said. Capital Sports and Entertainment/Charles Attal Presents "reimburses the city's expenses 100 percent, plus they leave some money to do some improvement. They respect where they have their event."

Stone said that aid made the irrigation system possible.

"It was a plan the parks department had always had but couldn't afford," Stone said. "It's going to help out all the other festivals and be a year-round benefit to the park."

Another innovation, AT&T Blue Room (blueroom.att.com), will Webcast selected performances from the festival, including Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, John Mayer and Nickel Creek.

Parking, or not

The biggest change outside the park might be the revamped shuttle service. The state garage at 12th Street and San Jacinto Boulevard is no longer the pickup and dropoff location.

The new bus stop is closer, at Republic Square at Fourth and Guadalupe streets. This will be the shuttle bus's only pickup spot. The free shuttle stopping near the festival entrance on Barton Springs Road runs continuously from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. all three days.

Though the stop is not close to the state-owned lot, Schickel said there's actually more parking in the new area, though the nearby lots are privately owned and have variable rates.

But some are available only after 5 p.m. Friday and during the weekend. Competition for downtown parking is likely to be fierce Friday. There is no parking on the festival site and no parking in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Those hoping to park in the area between Barton Springs Road and the Barton Oaks office buildings near MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1) and Bee Cave Road (RM 2244) are also out of luck: A large fence surrounds that area.

Schickel also said the festival is strongly encouraging patrons to ride their bikes: "There's new bike rack over by the Town Lake portal, in addition to the racks at the Zilker Park box office, so there are now two large areas for bikes."

There is no festival parking at Austin High School or along adjacent Stephen F. Austin Drive, which will be closed to through traffic for the festival. Attendees can be dropped off at the north end of the MoPac Boulevard pedestrian bridge on Stephen F. Austin Drive.

Barton Springs Road will be closed at Robert E. Lee Road, and there is no access to Barton Springs from the MoPac access road. Stratford Drive will also be closed. These closures run from 9 a.m. Friday through midnight Sunday.

For those who wish to beat the Friday morning rush, the Zilker box office is open from 3 to 8 p.m. today for early wristband redemption and cash sales for Friday and Sunday tickets. Single-day ticket prices are $63. Three-day pass holders can exchange tickets for weekend wristbands.

So stay cool. Or dry. Or something.

jgross@statesman.com; 912-5926