Houston's tragic Astroworld Festival crowd crush, which took place in 2021 and killed 10 audience members, remains one of the most devastating live concert disasters in history.
However, newly unearthed documents reveal that it could possibly have been prevented had organizers listened to the safety team's initial concerns.
Astroworld Tragedy Preventable If Safety Team Concerns Were Addressed
According to AllHipHop, new evidence has been revealed to the public that Seyth Boardman, one of the people named in the lawsuit against Astroworld, had expressed apprehensions about the crowd capacity at the festival.
Broadman, who co-founded live entertainment risk management company B3 Risk Solutions in 2010, was tapped to be the safety and risk director for the Astroworld Festival. Rolling Stone noted that Boardman's involvement in the project was a conflict of interest.
Apparently, he was worried that about 50,000 fans would be in front of the stage days before the actual festival.
New evidence suggests that there was a "significant underestimation" of the space required per person in the venue to avoid overcrowding.
Organizers "erroneously" believed that the fire safety code only required five square feet per person, when it was actually seven square feet per person. In the end, approximately 50,000 people were admitted to a space that only 34,500 people were allowed to use.
Baordman also expressed concerns that gatecrashers could potentially increase the overall attendance, as well as the lack of effective monitoring strategies for crowd distress in place.
READ ALSO: Travis Scott Calls Astroworld Festival Tragedy a 'Devastating' Night He Will Never Forget
Astroworld Tragedy
In November of 2021, Travis Scott's Astroworld Festival filled the headlines after the deadly tragedy generated a hefty lawsuit.
But this is not the first time that Scott's performance has been riddled with controversy. In his Rolling Loud Miami 2019 performance, Scott was also sued for allegedly causing a stampede.
According to a Variety report, Scott will not face any criminal charges related to the Astroworld incident. He has since been cooperating with authorities to uncover broader event management and safety failures that resulted in the disaster.
READ MORE: Travis Scott Escaping 'Astroworld Tragedy' Case? Important Evidence Now UNRETRIEVABLE
