Chanhassen City Council Authorizes Limited Tours Of Paisley Park
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It appears Prince fans who were hoping to get inside Paisley Park, will get to tour it after all -- but not everyone, and not right away.
The city of Chanhassen put the Paisley Park museum plan on hold to review public safety and traffic concerns. That means the court-appointed special administrator of Prince's estate would have had to cancel tours, which are set begin on Thursday.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Chanhassen City Council voted to allow a temporary permit to allow a small amount of tours to continue. Fans who bought tour tickets for Oct. 7 through the 15 will get to take the tour on either Oct. 6, 8 or 14. The temporary permit is similar to permits Prince used to host parties at Paisley Park.
The application was made Tuesday and is expected to be granted Wednesday.
Katie Louden grew up in Carver County and is proud to say Prince was a member of her community.
"I think it's a really important thing to open up for Prince fans and for people who visit Minnesota and Chanhassen to see," she said.
Louden did what countless other fans did when told Paisley Park would offer tours -- she bought tickets.
"I had a friend who was coming in from out of state next week to go to the tribute concert and to tour Paisley Park," she said. "So we got tickets for next weekend, and then I got the email in the middle of the night saying it's been postponed."
Late Tuesday afternoon, Chanhassen's City Manager recommended a temporary permit should be granted to allow the temporary tours of Paisley Park on Oct. 6. 8. and 14 to accommodate those who already bought tickets. The tours will run from 9am to 9pm, transportation will be by bus.
City Council Member Jerry McDonald says there are serious concerns about safety, traffic and parking around Paisley Park.
"I don't think it's thought out enough," he said. "There are too many holes in the plan. They did not address a lot of concerns that were brought up."
McDonald would also like to see a sidewalk on Audubon to accommodate the thousands who will come to look at the building and not take the tour.
"The city had nothing to do with those tickets," he said. "We did not see the tickets. We did not encourage the sale of those ticket."
McDonald says the council told Bremer Trust -- the court-appointed special administrator of Prince's estate -- there was no guarantee the council would pass the ordinance.
"They took a risk, and that's fine. That's what business does," McDonald said. "But the only thing I'm disappointed in is that they passed that risk on to the ticket-holder."
Although the tour tickets say non-refundable, information on how to get a refund will be sent out to those who bought them later.
A work session with the city council and the operator of Paisley park will happen next Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. It is an open meeting, but nothing will be decided.
