The Vans Warped Tour is coming to Monmouth Park racetrack July 19. Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon said borough officials support the tour that is coming to the borough for the first time.
“We learned about the tour in August 2008 through a promoter after the Haskell Invitational that drew in 42,000 to 52,000 people over a two-day period,” said Mahon.
The Vans Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival that was founded by promoter Kevin Lyman in 1994.
The tour, which runs from April 2 to Aug. 23 across the United States, showcases as many as 100 bands involving alternative rock, Christian rock, electronica, emo, metalcore, post-hardcore and punk rock bands.
Notable acts in the past years include Green Day, Bad Religion and NOFX.
Police Chief Harold Sutton said he is not concerned about the tour coming into the borough.
“It’s a traffic issue, which we have handled at various events at the racetrack over the years, including the Haskell Invitational and the Breeders’ Cup,” he said. “This concert tends to be a younger crowd, so we will have a lot of drop-offs and pick-ups.”
Sutton said a complete operational plan is in place for the event, including first aid, fire and police.
“We will bring in police officers from surrounding towns including West Long Branch, Little Silver, etc., that will help with crowd control,” he said. “The event will also have its own security detail.”
A meeting that will include local emergency services, representatives from local government and Monmouth Park officials will be held at 4 p.m. March 5 to discuss security during the Warped Tour event.
“We will present what was discussed at the meeting during the regular Borough Council meeting later that night at 8 p.m.,” Mahon said.