Brawling at 'The Bank' Can Be Unpredictable

When the easy-going country band Rascal Flatts played First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park police twice had to step in to break up fights.

The next week, when the hard-rocking metal band KISS came to town, the show went off without a hitch.

It's not the band, but the crowd that shows up that determines what security is needed, said Dave Shaw, general manager at Live Nation, the company that puts on concerts at the 12,000-seat venue.

"The preparation is not really any different (for each act)," said Shaw. "How we handle each show is based on crowd demographics and ticket sales."

However, calls to police are up this year.

As of Friday, the Tinley Park Police had answered 349 calls to the amphitheatre this year. That's compared to 298 calls for all of 2009, police said.

"We normally don't call the Tinley Park Police Department unless there is a theft, severe violence or something that spills into the territory of requiring police assistance," Shaw said.

Live Nation doesn't work directly with the Tinley Park police department in planning, Sgt. Lorelei Mason said.

"Basically when there is a liquor license involved, they handle their own security," said Mason, adding that police are only called for additional assistance. "It's kind of like if we were called to a retail store for a theft."

The most notable incident in the venue's past took place in 2006, when a woman was raped in the parking lot in the middle of the day during OzzFest. The normal situations that require security intervention are much less severe, Shaw said.

"We handle things on a case-by-case basis. If there is any trouble we may need to have someone thrown out, but that's typically as bad as it gets," Shaw said. "And we usually handle things in-house with our own security."

During the Aug. 28 Rascal Flatts concert, police said, a man threatened other concert-goers with a knife. On the same night, two drunken men got into a fistfight, police said. During the fight, one of the brawlers was pushed into a bystander.

While the KISS fans may not have been placid and docile, police weren't called to the Sept. 3 show. The Bank's next show features Toby Keith on Sept. 18.

"Ninety percent of our job is preplanning," said Shaw. "We have regular meetings with our supervisors and staff to determine how we will handle shows."

Shaw stressed that preparation is key to avoiding situations before they take place.

"I know every day how many tickets are sold for a show, and between our staff there really isn't a show we haven't done before," he said. "We've got a great wealth of knowledge leading into the shows. Plus, I can call other buildings that have had similar shows and get further information from them."