Garth Brooks fans are demanding refunds for a concert that took place at the newly expanded Thunder Ridge Nature Arena at Bass Pro Shops’ Big Cedar Lodge in Missouri on Friday (Sept. 30) after a “nightmare” situation.
The concert reportedly sold over 80,000 tickets and fans claimed that the venue could not handle the overwhelming amount of concertgoers arriving in the parking lot ahead of the show.
According to several news outlets and angry Twitter posts, many attendees were upset as they missed most or all of Brooks’ concert due to being stuck waiting in traffic for several hours as there were allegedly no available spaces in the full parking lots.
KY3 News shared that the venue lacked a solid shuttle system, which forced some fans to have to walk down Highway 86.
Jeff Wilhoit, a Bass Pro Shops leader, told the outlet that they hired an outside company to coordinate the shuttle system. “We hired a company called ASM Global. They do large events all over the country,” he explained.
On Your Side: Bass Pro Shops apologizes for Garth Brooks concert problems; ‘Will make it right’: https://t.co/nyAFBsfEGx
— KY3 News (@kytv) October 4, 2022
Wilhoit shared that ASM Global works with FEMA and when the hurricane hit Florida, FEMA took most of their allotted shuttles meant to be used for the concert.
In addition to shuttle and parking issues, there were also alleged ADA complaints, saying that the venue could not properly accommodate fans with disabilities.
“It’s heartbreaking, honestly. It’s hard to know what to say to those folks. There were people that absolutely, it was a challenge on Friday night. It’s heartbreaking to watch those folks. Especially the ADA folks who had a hard time getting in,” Wilhoit acknowledged. “Again, for the vast majority of people, it was not only an amazing concert, it was the concert of a lifetime.”
“We had to scramble just to find some on Friday night. We would never encourage anyone to walk down Highway 86,” Wilhoit explained.
He promises the venue will improve in the future and that this show was a learning curve for them.
“Anytime you open something brand new, especially an arena of this size, you are going to have challenges,” he admitted.
Wilhoit extended his apologies to those who were not able to make it into the concert.
“I want to apologize. We are extremely sorry that they didn’t,” he said. For the vast majority, lots of people had an incredible time. You can tell by that aerial picture there were 20,000 people that had an incredible time. But for those folks that were not able to make it in, especially on Friday night when we had challenges, we are definitely sorry about that,” he said. “We will make it right with folks.
He then explained their plans to correct the issue.
“If they were not able to get in or got in the last song or something, we want to make it right with people. Johnny Morris is not in the business to scam people out of money. Thunder Ridge is in a not-for profit. (The) Johnny Morris Foundation and all the money raised from that concert goes back to conservation,” Wilhoit added.
Refunds are reportedly available for fans who never got to see the concert.
See below for fans reactions to the “nightmare” situation:
Leaving parking is nightmare. They have hundreds of people working here and not one can assist in getting the flow of traffic moving. 2 hours just sitting in lot. I expected waiting but this is horrible. No planning. Terrible planning, but thanks for your money.
— Hanleyfalls63 (@hanleyfalls63) October 2, 2022
Loved the show tonight Garth. The sound was great & you looked fantastic. But there are serious safety issues for the elderly and physically challenged. You finished SOTF 4 hours ago and we're just now getting to our hotel room. This was a nightmare.
@naturearenaMO @garthbrooks pic.twitter.com/JjoFwB3S1n— Miss Tracie (@txgb_fan) October 1, 2022
Traffic Jams, People walking on highways and Dirt Road.
Thunder Ridge Arena down old dirt road outside Branson, MO could not hold the crowd of 80,000 people who came Friday Night 9/30/22.GARTH BROOKS. Arena tickets 400.00 a piece. Others did not get to see concert. pic.twitter.com/3e5nw52AiR
— *GMC JIMMY*🇺🇸 (@GMCJIMMY21) October 5, 2022
.@ThunderRidgeMO How do I get a refund for the @garthbrooks concert? Came from STL, sat in 2 21/2 hours of gridlock. There was Zero parking which lead to Hundreds of people walking the Unlit 2 lane highway full of traffic. It was beyond dangerous & unacceptable.
— Michelle Steeg LPC, NCC she/her (@Msteeg22) October 1, 2022
#GarthBrooks wtf is happening after your concert!?! Thousands of fans trapped in parking lots for over 2 hours! Please help!
— Katie Sanderson (@the_kat_call) September 30, 2022
I have never seen so many posts of people trying to dump their concert tickets than for the Garth Brooks concerts this weekend in Branson.
— Billy Jansen (@HellbenderSTL) September 30, 2022
.@ThunderRidgeMO How do I get a refund for the @garthbrooks concert? Came from STL, sat in 2 21/2 hours of gridlock. There was Zero parking which lead to Hundreds of people walking the Unlit 2 lane highway full of traffic. It was beyond dangerous & unacceptable.
— Michelle Steeg LPC, NCC she/her (@Msteeg22) October 1, 2022
https://twitter.com/paytonhalinger/status/1576724749819879425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1576724749819879425%7Ctwgr%5Edabe541e5a88f0d4f5ab16b0809dc86c4161180d%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F2022%2F10%2F06%2Ffans-demand-refunds-for-nightmare-garth-brooks-concert-at-bass-pros-thunder-ridge-nature-arena%2F
.@ThunderRidgeMO How do I get a refund for the @garthbrooks concert? Came from STL, sat in 2 21/2 hours of gridlock. There was Zero parking which lead to Hundreds of people walking the Unlit 2 lane highway full of traffic. It was beyond dangerous & unacceptable.
— Michelle Steeg LPC, NCC she/her (@Msteeg22) October 1, 2022
I’m aware this is first world probs, but this has been the absolute most disappointing experience. Left our hotel 14 miles away at 4:30 and just walked into the venue at 8:50. Concert already started. #GarthBrooks was AMAZING!#GARTHatThunderRidge, not so much. #BassProShops
— Shandi Treat (@ShandiTreat) October 1, 2022
Ok @BassProShops @Cabelas Johnny Morris…Thunder Ridge is a catastrophic failure. Traffic for @garthbrooks was complete unacceptable. That cluster F*CK last night was an embarrassment. And $50 for two beers? Dusty walking trails in and out. Hillside seats that were a joke.
— Jim (@ScmActuary) October 1, 2022
Use caution when seeing @garthbrooks at ThunderRidge. We sat in traffic for 2 hrs. Waited 2 hrs for a shuttle. Did not get to the show until 9pm, and the schedule said Garth was performing until 10:45, he was done by 10:15. Paid $250 and only saw an hour. @BassProShops @kytv
— Tiffany (@TWotring22) October 1, 2022
Still ❤️ #GarthBrooks and would see him in concert every single day but this was undoubtedly the worst concert experience I’ve ever had. Someone really dropped the ball on this one. So incredibly disappointed. #GARTHatThunderRidge #BassProShops
— Shandi Treat (@ShandiTreat) October 1, 2022
Johnny and Garth, do the right thing and reimburse those of us who bought tickets and unable to get to venue. We were made to pay 48.00 to park at the Fruit Farm, miles from the venue and shuttles were stuck in the traffic mess. 1000’s of people were stranded, some walked miles.
— Jennifer (@jennannwill) October 4, 2022
We love Garth too and was extremely upset that we never made it to the venue after sitting in traffic for over 2 hours! Even paid for parking and didn't get to use it either. Was a total cluster! We even came from out of state to see him. Disappointing.
— Shelle Herring (@artemis0368) October 3, 2022
The concerts were held in celebration of Bass Pro’s 50th anniversary. The events took place at the newly expanded Thunder Ridge Nature Arena at Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge in the Ozarks of Missouri.
Originally planned for one night only, the demand for tickets forced concert organizers to add two additional nights.
Congratulations to my pal, Johnny Morris, on 50 years of @BassProShops! You ARE the American Dream! Thank YOU for inviting us to celebrate with you— we had a BLAST!!! love, g pic.twitter.com/hzoKoMlFPN
— Garth Brooks (@garthbrooks) October 3, 2022
Brooks took to social media after the shows to congratulate the Bass Pro Shops CEO on the milestone anniversary.
“Congratulations to my pal, Johnny Morris, on 50 years of @BassProShops! You ARE the American Dream! Thank YOU for inviting us to celebrate with you— we had a BLAST!!! love, g,” he wrote.
Garth Brooks has no tour dates on the books, according to his website.
