Huge turnout anticipated for Flo Rida concert

The University of Richmond Police Department will increase campus security during the Flo Rida concert on Friday night, which is expected to attract a larger crowd than past Pig Roast events, Campus Police Chief David McCoy said.

Unlike Pig Roast events in past years, the Flo Rida concert is open to the public. The combination of students, the public and Flo Rida's popularity is expected to bring more people to campus than past Pig Roast weekend events.

Kelly Larsen, co-chair of Camp Kesem, said that the event was open to the public because it was a fundraiser for the organization.

Larsen said she was expecting to have a crowd of approximately 1,200 people, with the majority from on campus.

"We want a lot of off-campus people to come, definitely, but I think we are definitely still trying to advertise to the campus," Larsen said. "We are not trying to make this event a '9,000 people from off campus' event, being that it's our first concert of this sort."

McCoy said URPD would staff the event with additional police officers from surrounding jurisdictions. He said there would not be a particular difference in how this concert was going to be treated from other major events at the Robins Center.

"My concerns are the residuals that happen after the event," McCoy said. "Post-events have always been important to me as far as staffing throughout my career.

"This is my first Pig Roast weekend, so I am actually looking forward to it."

As for the residence halls, Richmond College Dean Joe Boehman said the university was not planning to have a tighter access limit on residence halls because they wanted students to have access to all restrooms on campus during Pig Roast.

"I have not heard any concerns," Boehman said. "That doesn't mean we are not going to be vigilant to that. And I think our university police tend to handle big events like this very well, in terms of managing security."

Contact staff writer Masato Tsuruta at masato.tsuruta@richmond.edu