The much anticipated U2 360 world tour concert is just four days away, and nearly 80,000 people are expected to flock to the Magnetic Hill concert site in Moncton.
While many are expecting a business boom over the weekend, some of the tourist attractions located close to the concert site are concerned the July 30 show might actually be bad for their businesses, and they're closing up shop.
Codiac RCMP laid out traffic plans last week, which include road closures adjacent to the concert site. Both vehicle and pedestrian traffic are expected to increase substantially, causing management at the Magnetic Hill Zoo to decide to close for the day.
"The zoo will be closed because the pattern of traffic that comes through the park here wouldn't be safe for traffic and pedestrian traffic to be going through here," says Magnetic Hill Zoo manager Bruce Dougan. "With that amount of traffic, many customers may stay away anyway because they know things will be very busy and congested up here."
The Magic Mountain Water Park sits across the street from the concert site. It has remained open for each concert held in Moncton, except for when The Rolling Stones performed in Labour Day in 2005.
Even more fans are expected to attend the U2 concert on Saturday than the Stones concert, and the water park has also decided to close due to traffic concerns.
"We know the city really benefits from having a concert," says general manager Mark Jelley. "Of course, as a business, our preference is not to have a concert right in the middle of our main season, and this is really one of the busiest weekends for us."
Staff at both the Magnetic Hill Zoo and Magic Mountain Water Park are hoping that people who walk by their businesses on the way to the concert will decide to drop by the day after the show.
"Even if we've got 10 per cent of the people who go to that concert, that's certainly going to be to our benefit," says Dougan.
The Magnetic Hill Winery sits just above the concert site and owner Jeff Everett says his operation will remain open, even though the road leading to and from the business will be shut down completely for 12 hours on Saturday.
"We're hoping we won't be as negatively affected as what we could be," says Everett. "Our retail will still be open, we're looking for some walk-in traffic, there will be lots of concertgoers that we'd like to drop in and check out our venue."
Police say they made their road closure decisions based on safety, and while many affected by the closures are concerned it will be bad for business, they agree safety should be made the top priority for what could be the largest outdoor concert in Atlantic Canadian history.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Nick Moore
