‘A disaster’: Snarled traffic heading into Arrowhead for Beyoncé show frustrates fans
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Clogged roads leading to Arrowhead Stadium Sunday night frustrated Beyoncé fans heading to the final show of the superstar’s Renaissance tour, reportedly causing some to leave their vehicles and walk.
Fans took to social media to describe their experiences, with some saying they were stuck in highway traffic leading to the stadium. Several said they and others gave up on driving the rest of the way, instead leaving their cars and proceeding on foot from miles away.
Alonda Daniels of Kansas City posted a video showing a group of people dressed for the concert in shiny silver boots and cowboy hats walking on the shoulder of a road that appeared to be Interstate 70.
“Ready to see Beyonce’, but stuck in traffic,” she wrote from her vantage point aboard a party bus. “People are getting out of their vehicles AND WALKING!! I’m glad I’m prepared for the walking. I have my baby heels on.”
Questions had been raised more than a week ahead of the concert about how parking and traffic would be handled at the show. Truman Sports Complex was featuring a rare double event Sunday: A Kansas City Royals game starting at 2:10 p.m. at Kauffman Stadium and the Beyoncé concert scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. at Arrowhead.
On Sept. 20, more than a week before the show, Officer Alayna Gonzalez, a Kansas City Police Department spokesperson, said police had been in touch with both the Chiefs and the Royals regarding the upcoming events. Gonzalez said a plan was being finalized to assist with traffic at the complex.
The police department shared details of that plan, including road closures and ridesharing information, Friday on its website as well as on social media, including Facebook and Instagram, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
Kansas City police traffic plan
With the exception of some guidance for rideshare dropoffs, the Kansas City Police Department plan posted on its website and on social media does not include details of how general traffic was to be managed after the Royals game and ahead of the concert.
The police department warned concertgoers that they might experience delays, so they were encouraged to arrive early.
Police also encouraged drivers not attending the concert to avoid the Truman Sports Complex area. Only ticketed guests were allowed in.
Rideshare drivers and others dropping off concertgoers were allowed in through Gate 2 off of the Blue Ridge Cutoff to bring passengers to Lot J. The drivers were then directed to leave the sports Complex via Gate 7.
Once Beyoncé took the stage, people were asked to enter the stadium and were not allowed to remain in the parking lot. Those who didn’t have a ticket for the show were required to leave.
The plan did address how traffic would be handled for those leaving the concert.
The ramps from westbound I-70 to Blue Ridge Cutoff, southbound Blue Ridge Cutoff at I-70, and northbound Blue Ridge Cutoff at Raytown Road were all closed. All traffic exiting Gate 4 was directed west to Ozark Road and Eastern Avenue.
Royals game ended soon before concert gates to open
A doubleheader was already in the cards for Beyoncé’s original concert date in Kansas City, before it was postponed.
Originally scheduled for Sept. 18, the concert would have occurred after a Royals game that started at 1:10 p.m.
The Royals had moved that game to an earlier start time to accommodate the concert.
Royals Vice President of Communications Sam Mellinger said last month that the club would not change the start time of Sunday’s game because it was the last game of the regular season and every team in the MLB plays at 2:10 p.m. (3:10 p.m. on the east coast, 12:10 p.m. on the west coast).
On Sunday, the announced attendance for the Royals game was 20,662 and the game ended about 4:45 p.m. That was just 45 minutes before the parking lot was scheduled to open for the concert at 5:30 p.m. About 50,000 people were expected to attend the concert.
Mellinger said Monday that the Royals had encouraged fans to clear the parking lots quickly.
He referred other questions on to the Chiefs, saying the concert was their event and any public comment should come from them. Becchina, the Kansas City police spokesman, also referred other questions to the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs public relations director Luke Shanno confirmed receiving The Star’s email seeking comment Monday, saying, “I’ll follow up if I have anything to share.”
Traffic backed up heading into Arrowhead
Becchina said police think the proximity of the Royals game, which started later than most Sunday games, to the opening of the parking lots to the concert added to the challenges.
He said there were not any significant crashes reported before the concert.
An estimated 75 police officers and deputies from multiple agencies in Kansas City and Jackson County were working both inside the stadium and the parking lots, Becchina said.
As it happened, the Beyoncé concert started two hours late. Still, many fans found the traffic impossible.
Delores Mae James of Kansas City, Kansas, ended up walking to the concert, she wrote on Facebook.
“The traffic to the Beyoncé Concert at Arrowhead Stadium was so congested that we got out of the car and walked at least 2 miles to get in,” she wrote. “In fact, the concert hasn’t started, yet, but WE ARE IN HERE!! My gorgeous niece Aubrey, Ronnie, and me!!!”
Will Carter of Kansas City reported, also in a Facebook post, that he was “supposed to be seeing Beyoncé right now but wrecks have shut down all but one entrance to Arrowhead stadium and everyone is still sitting on the interstate.”
“This is a disaster tonight. I’ve never seen traffic this bad.”
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Monday posted a message on social media Monday linking the concert traffic problem to larger development patterns.
“As long as mass public transportation and nearby high density development is not a part of stadium design, a few challenges — such as two same-day events — will burden car traffic,” Lucas said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “As we host more events, it’s important to reassess how we can better move people in and out!”
The Star’s Lisa Gutierrez contributed to this report
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 11:13 AM.
