Bill Edwards announces concert series to boost summer business in St. Pete [Video]

Lauryn Hill, Poison, and 3 Doors Down are just a sampling of the eclectic array of concerts coming to Al Lang Stadium and the Mahaffey Theater this summer. While tickets have already been for sale for a few weeks, St. Pete entrepreneur and Rowdies owner Bill Edwards officially announced the “Al Lang Live” series today at a gathering in the Mahaffey atrium.  Edwards spoke for about 10 minutes, emphasizing his commitment to respecting the surrounding residents with regard to noise and traffic.  He explained that the “speakers will be pointed downward” to limit the reach of the noise. In addition, roaming staff members with decibel meters will continuously monitor noise in the surrounding neighborhood; they’ll be connected via walkie-talkie to the sound engineers who can lower the volume on a moment’s notice if necessary.  The concerts, held mostly on weekdays, will also beginning earlier, around 6:30, to keep them from cutting into bed time.

After the announcement, Edwards took questions from the audience; for the most part, they touched on parking and programming goals for the series.  Many local residents (including restaurant magnate Steve Westphal) stood to praise Edwards.

Watch the entire talk and Q & A in the (poor quality cell phone) video below.