Tom Petty Offers To Personally Reimburse Fans After Fire Marshal Shuts Down Hollywood Show
HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — There will be no heartbreak for Tom Petty fans after the musician offered to reimburse concertgoers who were booted from a weekend show by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Petty's concert Saturday at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood was shut down by the LAFD fire marshal 90 minutes into the show because the venue was over capacity.
During Sunday night's concert at the same venue, which holds 1,300 people, 62-year-old Petty told his fans: "We had to quit a little early last night. I don't like to assign blame, but it wasn't me. I'm absolutely sure we're going to work this out. If I have to pay it myself, everyone will be reimbursed," according to Billboard.
The band issued the following statement on their official website Sunday:
First and foremost, the safety of our fans is our primary concern and the most important consideration.
To those fans who attended last night's show at the Fonda Theatre, we are as frustrated as you are!
While we are still investigating exactly what happened we do know the following as of right now:
1) The number of tickets sold was NOT above the legal capacity of the building. The venue and Ticketmaster documentation confirms this.
2) The Fire Marshal decided that the number of people on the floor (as opposed to on the upstairs balcony or terrace) was unsafe.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers and our representatives rely on the concert promoter and venue representatives to give us an accurate breakdown of the legal capacity for every part of the building and to provide security and other staff to enforce this.
We are still investigating all details of last night's situation and will keep you informed.
The shows at the Fonda tonight and Tuesday will go ahead as planned and we are working with the venue, the promoter and the Fire Marshal to ensure that this problem will not repeat itself.
We thank you for your support.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
It was unclear when fans would be reimbursed.
