Outside Lands returms to San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO

"I grabbed my place already and I'm sitting there, not moving, until Monday," Richmond District resident Lee Wanda Marshall said.

Thursday, Marshall parked her car in front of her Richmond District home and that is where it will stay.

Outside Lands starts Saturday at the nearby polo grounds. Some of the festivals expected 50,000 attendees will be trying to find parking in her neighborhood so she had to stake her claim.

Henry Arnold has lived near the polo grounds for 33 years. Like most local resident ACB7 spoke to, parking is an issue, but the music and traffic is not much of a bother.

"It doesn't bother me but it's a little inconvenient when you can't get through the park," Arnold said.

The event attracted more than 100,000 people for the past two years. Groups like Kings of Leon and Furthur are expected to draw the same huge crowds this weekend even though the event has now been reduced to two days instead of three like last year.

"It was really just the availability of top level talent that we thought would make the event what it's been, so we wanted to maintain that level," Rick Farman of Superfly Productions said.

Tickets are $75. No food or drink is allowed into the polo grounds but there will be food for sale from 40 local restaurants and wines from 25 wineries. Promoters say the event contributes $1 million to the city's cash strapped recreation and parks budget and creates a financial magnet for the city.

Outside Lands event producers say it attracts people from all over the country and those people will spend about $30 million in San Francisco over the two days.

Promoter Allen Scott says the city does not have to contribute a dime for the event.

"We pay for all city services, cleanup, additional Muni, that sort of thing," Scott said.

Promoters say taking public transportation is the best way to attend.

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