Peace, Love & Fiery Riots: Woodstock '99 Tenth Anniversary
Story Created:
Jul 23, 2009 at 12:13 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Jul 23, 2009 at 5:25 PM EDT
ROME, N.Y. (WKTV) - Today, you'll find people in suits walking around Griffiss Business and Technology Park. Ten years ago today, it was ripped shorts, tie-dyes and bathing suits. It was Woodstock '99, and all eyes in the music industry worldwide were on Rome, New York.
It all began with an attorney who had clients looking for a concert site, and clients who were involved with oversight of the former Griffiss Air Force Base. All parties met at the former base on a Sunday in November, 1998, and from there, the fate was sealed: Woodstock '99 would happen at Griffiss Park.
Among the most enthusiastic supporters of the event; then Rome Mayor Joe Griffo, who was looking for tangible and intangible benefits for a city that had taken some hits recently.
"It would be short term economic benefit, it would be exposure for our community across this country and internationally and finally it was an emotional boost at a time when the community had really suffered some significant downturns with the loss of Griffiss," says now State Senator Griffo.
Griffo cites roughly half a million dollars in sales tax revenue for Oneida County and Rome as part of the reason the event can be considered a success. He also points to the fact that the event, in spite of its magnitude, didn't disrupt the important work happening elsewhere on the former base.
"You had three military components functioning each and every day there, very important military components, the air force research lab, the most important, the northeast air defense sector and the defense finance and accounting service center."
No one knows for sure why the music festival disintegrated into fiery riots on its third and final day. But Griffo, and even producer Michael Lang, say it was a different animal from the original Woodstock in '69 right from the start.
"Whether it was the genre of music because it was different from the 60s, the 90s some say where peace and love permeated the 60s... this was more of a Spring Break type of mindset," says Griffo.
But were the fires, riots and resulting arrests enough to put Woodstock '99 in the 'failure' column?
"Looking at the three criteria I use to evaluate at the time I believe that it was something that was worth pursuing at that time for those reasons," says Griffo.
Friday on NewsChannel 2's look back at Woodstock '99 we look at what could have been done differently in order to prevent the riots?
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