Parks Board approves 1 year contract for Rockfest

KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Tuesday the Kansas City, Missouri Parks Board voted to allow Rockfest to return for another year.

The vote was 3-2.

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The split Parks Board approved only with a one year, rather than multiyear contract.

The grass has grown back and that helped calm concerns about the muddy mess after the last Rockfest.

A few bare patches remain in some areas and those will be reseeded this fall.

Near an area that had been torn up, Marc Gambardella and Tamara Gilchrist enjoy lunch Tuesday.

Both really loved Rockfest, even when it turned to mudfest.

"Crazy event, but it was a lot of fun," said Gambardella.

Torrential rain, 50,000 rock and roll fans and 18,000 vehicles turned Penn Valley park into soggy mess, tearing up acres of turf around the Liberty Memorial.

"It was really muddy, I've never seen it like that before. But it didn't hurt anything, everybody still had a lot of fun," said Gilchrist.

It provoked a battle over whether Rockfest would be allowed back.

The event promoter paid for repairs and accepted a stricter contract, but two Parks Commissioners still voted against Rockfest.

Both commissioners, Aggie Stackhaus and Ajamu Webster, refused to talk about it with reporters.

The event promoter is glad to get the new contract.

"Sure, I would have liked to have had everyone vote in favor of it. I think that economic impact on Kansas City is significant," said Joe Litvag, a senior vice-president for AEG Live.

Officials estimate the economic impact of Rockfest at about a half million dollars.

One big concern was when vehicles parked all over the grounds of a nearby monument to fallen firefighters.

The new contract carries tougher parking rules to prevent that next year, but some fans disagree it was even a problem.

"Nobody was desecrating anything," said Gilchrist.

So Rockfest will return, with fans and officials betting for drier skies in 2011.