It’s been a long time coming, but Cincinnati is set to mark this week’s 36th anniversary of the 1979 Who concert tragedy with the dedication of a permanent memorial marker by the site.
On Dec. 3, 1979, 11 people were crushed to death outside Riverfront Coliseum (now U.S. Bank Arena) when entrance doors didn’t open fast enough or early enough for the waiting crowd. Most of the tickets were for festival-style general admission, putting a priority on arriving early. Reports at the time said some in the waiting crowd mistook the band’s pre-show sound check for the concert and tried to get in before the Coliseum’s management was ready.
A marker dedication will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday on the plaza between U.S. Bank Arena and Great American Ball Park. There will also be a lighting of lanterns in remembrance. Afterward, there will be a public reception at Historic Herzog Studio at 811 Race St., on the second floor. (That latter space is managed by Cincinnati USA Music Heritage Foundation, the nonprofit that spearheaded the drive for the marker.) Read the full article here.
Cincinnati honors the Who concert tragedy with a marker dedication 7 p.m. Thursday on the plaza between U.S. Bank Arena and Great American Ball Park.
