It’s 10 days of food, rides, rodeo and music, but for some Calgarians, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth is just 10 sleepless nights.
Robert Scobel and his girlfriend live on the other side of downtown from Stampede Park, in the west end. They say it’s traditionally been a quiet community with families and retirees, but this year they’ve got a new, partying neighbour.
“It’s been pretty miserable; it’s been like someone has just driven up with a really loud stereo system in their car, you know, with the windows rattling, except they don’t leave,” says Scobel.
“It’s been constant, pretty much every night.”
This is the first year Cowboys Music Festival is operating in its new location at Cowboys Park, formally Shaw Millennium Park. While some fans say it’s bigger and better than ever, drawing acts they’ve been waiting to see, those who live across the street aren’t happy with the move.
“I haven’t been able to sleep. The noise generally doesn’t quiet until at least 1:30 at night, sometimes much later than that,” says Scobel.
“And then there’s noise not necessarily associated with the concertl; sometimes people continue the party out in the street.”
The City of Calgary announced the 10-year partnership with Cowboys last July with public engagement opportunities in April of this year, but Scobel says, as a resident, his concerns have been ignored.
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“I reached out to the city when this was announced, and I never heard anything back. I’m trying to file noise complaints, and my neighbours are as well, to let the city know that this is being disruptive to a lot of people’s lives.”
Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong says his office has only received 11 emails about the tent, adding roughly half have been about the noise, while the rest are about crowd control. Residents contacting him live in West Downtown and as far away as West Hillhurst on the other side of the river.
“I’m surprised we haven’t gotten more but I think people are accepting it,” says Wong. “We need to appreciate this is Stampede time, this is an event time, not to say everyone enjoys it but it’s something that puts on a great show for the world.”
Cowboys Music Festival has received a noise bylaw exemption for Stampede. The tent can play music at 85db until 1:30 a.m., at which point it must be turned down to 60db and shut off at 2 a.m. Wong acknowledges the sound travels and can permeate up into apartment buildings, but hopes residents in the area will understand it is for a finite amount of time.
“If you go inside, guaranteed you’re going to sit in 90 to 100db, but when you stand outside the sound levels are at 82db and the further away you go it drops down.”
But Scobel and his girlfriend are worried it won’t just be for 10 days in July. With the sponsorship agreement set for the next decade, billing the park as a festival and event space that could host up to 100,000 people annually, the couple is worried their quiet corner of downtown is going to get a lot louder.
“(If it’s 10 years) we look at leaving,” says Scobel.
“This is extremely disruptive to the neighbourhood… we’re really worried it’s actually going to get worse instead of better going forward.”
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