Angry Garth Brooks Fans Demand Refunds For Show At Thunder Ridge Nature Arena Near Branson

Brooks (Photo: Joseph Llanes)

KYTV (KY3)/SPRINGFIELD, MO, is reporting that angry GARTH BROOKS fans who tried to attend his concert at THUNDER RIDGE NATURE ARENA at BASS PRO SHOPS BIG CEDAR LODGE, outside of BRANSON, MO, on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 30th are demanding refunds for the show. Thousands of fans who paid an estimated $400 per ticket say they never even made it into the show, or only caught the back end of the concert due to parking, traffic and shuttle problems. There were also complaints from people who have disabilities, saying they were left with no choice but to try and walk for miles to the venue.

As previously reported, BROOKS’ three-night (SEPTEMBER 30th through OCTOBER 2nd) stint marked the first shows at the newly expanded amphitheater. Its land was set aside in a not-for-profit foundation, so all proceeds from events held there - included BROOKS’ shows — are earmarked to to enhance nearby THUNDER RIDGE and support conservation.

KY3 reports that the first night's traffic even caused problems for neighbors in the area of the arena, who weren't even attending the show, but were stuck for hours just trying to get home. 

BASS PRO Spokesperson JEFF WILHOIT told the TV station, “We hired a company called ASM GLOBAL. They do large events all over the country.” He noted that ASM works with FEMA, and FEMA had taken a lot of the shuttles to help out with the HURRICANE IAN effort in FLORIDA. “We had to scramble just to find some on FRIDAY night. We would never encourage anyone to walk down HIGHWAY 86," he added. "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."

He added, "For the vast majority of people, it was not only an amazing concert, it was the concert of a lifetime. Anytime you open something brand new, especially an arena of this size, you are going to have challenges.”

WILHOIT did make a direct apology to the families who spent money to see the concert, but couldn't. “I want to apologize," he said. "We are extremely sorry that they didn’t. 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.”

When asked what BASS PRO was doing to make it right, he responded, “We will make it right with folks. If they were not able to get in or got in at the last song or something, we want to make it right with people."

Refunds are being offered. Click here to see the story.

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