Nutter Cites Success Of 'Made In America' As Proof City Is Prepared For Papal Visit
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has declared the 'Made in America' concert a success, indicating that it bodes well for managing the visit of Pope Francis in the same venue at the end of the month.
A record crowd of more than 130,000 people for the two days enjoyed the event without incident -- proof, said the mayor, that the city can handle major events on the Ben Franklin Parkway.
Without making a direct comparison to some of the anxiety the pope's visit has aroused, Mayor Nutter noted there was initial skepticism about 'Made in America' when it started three years ago.
"This had never been done before, so the question was how would we, as a city, handle it," Nutter said. "I think we can now confirm what we said four years ago which was, quote, 'we have the infrastructure in place and the institutional experience to manage events of this magnitude.'"
Nutter acknowledged the Papal Mass and Festival of Families will be much larger, with tighter security, but he says one lesson learned from 'Made in America' is that weather may be the biggest challenge.
"Folks are going to be out for a pretty decent number of hours, standing, (and) it could be rather warm," Nutter said. "And so the larger issue is making sure we strategically place water, medical tents and the like around the (Pope) Francis festival grounds."
Mayor Nutter said the forecast, right now, is for clear skies, but there is an evacuation plan for the area in the case of a sudden storm.