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89-755: The NRG Arena (formerly the Astroarena and Reliant Arena ), is a 350,000 square feet (33,000 m) sports center in NRG Park , in Houston , Texas, USA. The main partition on the first floor is the "Arena Proper", a 24,000 gross square foot arena that seats up to 8,500 people. In addition to the Arena Proper, there are four exhibit halls within the NRG Arena. The largest hall is Exhibit Hall D, boasting 100,000 square feet (10,000 m) of space. The second

178-601: A U.S. concert since the Station nightclub fire , which killed 100 people in West Warwick, Rhode Island , in 2003. Twenty-five people were evacuated to local hospitals following the concert. More than 300 people were treated for injuries in the field hospital at the festival. Immediately following the concert, Travis Scott attended a scheduled, private after-party at a local Dave & Buster's restaurant. Scott and fellow performer Drake did not hear pleas to stop

267-445: A call from a police lieutenant requesting riot gear due to the crowd's behavior at the security perimeter. At 9:00   a.m, some attendees waiting in line were throwing trash at each other, crowd surfing and surging toward the ground's outer barriers. From approximately 9:15   a.m. to 9:45   a.m., numerous checkpoints, including the festival's main-entrance gate and a COVID-19 -testing site were breached and bypassed prior to

356-416: A compressing crowd and several attendees staggering out and experiencing panic attacks , and with no time to consult with ParaDocs, Chief Koochak ordered an 'EMT Task Force' of 16 units to attend the scene. At 9:38 p.m., a ParaDocs dispatcher at Unified Command relayed a mass-casualty incident to officials; HFD dispatchers declared the mass-casualty event, but communication began to break down and

445-487: A fatal crowd crush occurred during the Astroworld Festival , an annual musical event hosted by American rapper Travis Scott at NRG Park in Houston, Texas . Eight people were pronounced dead on the day of the incident, and two more died in the hospital in the following days. The Harris County medical examiner's office declared the cause of death to be compressive asphyxiation while the manner of death

534-585: A gate breach at the prior Astroworld Festival and security issues at Scott's concerts were not specifically addressed. Despite reports of subsequent revisions, HCSCC said it had not obtained the revisions prior to the event. Early attendees recalled witnessing a confusing layout with inadequate signage, poor lighting, lack of adequate water stations, lack of exits, 100-foot-wide (30 m) quadrants conducive to severe and unmanageable crowd surges, and access aisles too narrow for security and medical staff; these accounts were later corroborated by experts. According to

623-665: A group of at least seven who died from their injuries in the center of the crowd's south quadrant. The crowd was so densely concentrated, that only 1.85 square feet (0.172 m ) of space per person was available, leading to compressive asphyxiation . At 9:13 p.m., an officer reported multiple fans scaling a gate. At 9:16 p.m., multiple reports of breathing problems and people being trampled were sporadically heard on radio traffic but with no clear location. At 9:18 p.m., HPD logs and radio traffic indicated at least one crush injury had occurred and at 9:21 p.m., crowd compression; and at 9:23 p.m., some fans began climbing

712-457: A horrible accident in the second race, Dario Franchitti and Takuma Sato made contact in turn 5 on the last lap making Franchitti airborne hitting the catchfence similar to Kenny Brack's incident in 2003 at Texas. The accident injured 13 fans from flying debris. The race returned in June 2014 with safety upgrades for both drivers and fans featuring updated fencing and grandstands were removed from where

801-401: A lawsuit against Apple Music , the streamer's camera team and equipment split the premises horizontally and vertically. The lawsuit alleged the decision compromised concertgoers' means of egress and evacuation in favor of better vantage points for the cameras. Houston Police Department said it had 528 on-duty officers at the festival, including 367 for the night shift and 161 held over from

890-528: A live gate of $ 6.9 million. The stadium was the first NFL stadium with a retractable roof and natural grass. The stadium can be configured to utilize a 125,000-square-foot (11,600 m ) space for general session, catered functions, exhibits, concerts, and much more. In addition, NRG Stadium offers four massive concourse levels for special events. The design of the stadium roof provides a very flexible rigging configuration for major audio and visual presentations. 200 suites complement NRG Stadium. The NRG Center

979-553: A main medical tent and smaller aid stations around the venue. According to early reporting, Houston Fire Department (HFD) stationed 20 ambulances outside the venue ahead of the concert. Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association (HPFFA) President Marty Lancton later disputed that total, saying none of his personnel were inside the venue because it was owned by the county and that the HPFFA had only four staff members on standby outside. At 5:00   a.m., fans began to line up at

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1068-520: A man yelled at a camera operator multiple times from the bottom of his media tower to stop the show, which was ignored. A woman soon joined him, climbing its ladder onto his platform to shout concerns of someone dead in the crowd. After also being ignored, the other concertgoer went onto the platform to join her but another audience member told them both the crowd would take care of it. "People are fucking dying! I want to save somebody's life! That's somebody's kid!", he responded. The operator told both to leave

1157-418: A meeting on November 17 Live Nation 's scanner report indicated only 37,858 attendees with scanned tickets on the property. Scott was scheduled to start his set at 8:45 p.m. but did not appear on stage until 9:02 p.m., starting his set at 9:06 p.m. His appearance resulted in a push toward it, leading to a human crush . According to HFD Chief Sam Peña, at about 9:00 p.m., members of

1246-468: A panicked female officer asked for a clear radio channel to report unconscious trampled victims in the medical tent, warning of worsening crowd conditions that may affect officers attempting rescues. At 9:33 p.m., police reported unconscious trample victims at the front of the stage, and in the next 10 minutes, police operators made five 911 calls about unconscious people in the crowd and reports of possible CPR ongoing or needed. A deputy chief confirmed

1335-423: A reserved section, then multiple barriers were reported compromised and officials asked a drone for clearer footage. Scott noticed an ambulance in the crowd, pointed and asked "What the fuck is that?" After telling the crowd, "If everybody good, put a middle finger up to the sky", two members of Scott's entourage came onto the stage to have an indecipherable conversation for several seconds, after which Scott turned to

1424-412: A result of cyanosis , and he attempted to revive her by pumping her chest while getting another attendee to breathe air into her lungs. Relieved two ParaDocs medics had attended the scene by approximately 9:42 p.m., he quickly realized they had no oxygen bag or defibrillator, being told they had run out; the graduate assistant watched with horror as one's compression were not properly implemented while

1513-429: A result of suffocation while on their feet. Even for trapped concertgoers who remained upright, a local internal medicine physician told Houston Chronicle those who could not expand their diaphragms, leading to blood flow to be restricted to the brain and heart, likely died within minutes as a result of cardiac arrest . One eyewitness told ABC News she saw security guards reinforce crowd-control barricades by tying

1602-507: A song. While the crowd chanted his name, Scott stood up and walked to the right, pointed offstage, asked for more lights, and asked the crowd to "make some noise for my boy right there hanging in the tree". At this time, some nearby concertgoers were still calling out for medics. Scott then told everyone to make a gesture with their middle fingers "because they are ready to rage" and continued his set. At approximately 9:30 p.m., medical staff moved to someone lying unresponsive in front of

1691-497: A speaker tower to escape the crush. According to a security guard, during Scott's performance, more than 12 attendees screamed at him for help to pull them over the barricades. Scott stopped the show for the first time at about 9:24 p.m., saying "Somebody passed out right here" toward the front of the stage. Other fans elsewhere continued screaming and waving to attract his attention but Scott began his next song. At approximately 9:27 p.m., Scott paused and hunched over after

1780-453: A tightly packed group of fans in the crowd's southern quadrant began screaming for medical help. According to forensic analysis of videos from crowd experts for The Washington Post , at least one victim who died was seen falling under a mass of people at the concert's opening. Three others who died were seen unconscious in a pile of fans by at least 9:16 p.m., one of whom had attempted to save two younger women's lives. They were part of

1869-520: Is Exhibit Hall A, which has 75,000 square feet (7,000 m) of space. Exhibit Halls B and C each have 50,000 square feet (5,000 m) of floor space as well. The upper level maintains smaller meeting rooms and office space as well as the "Stockman's Club". Construction of the Astroarena was completed in 1974 adjacent to the Astrohall . Although the Astrohall (renamed Reliant Hall temporarily)

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1958-733: Is a convention center located among the sports venues in NRG Park. It opened in 2002 and hosts various events year-round, including portions of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, who maintains its offices on the second floor of the building. It runs over ¼ mile in length. Offering over 706,000 square feet (65,600 m ) of contiguous single-level exhibit space divisible into 11 separate halls, NRG Center contains 61 meeting rooms configurable into over 100 variations, 2 major conference centers, 118 loading bays, over 150,000 square feet (14,000 m ) of registration space. NRG Center

2047-610: Is equipped with a technological infrastructure capable of providing high-speed internet access, pre-wired fiber optic cabling backbone, on-site production facilities, 120 television monitors, and web-casting abilities. Exclusive services include on-site support from telephone and internet, electrical, food and beverage, rigging, security and event staffing. Each meeting room has its own dedicated sound, lighting and networking capabilities. A 280,000-square-foot (26,000 m ) marshalling area on-site with over 200,000 square feet (20,000 m ) of space for shuttle transportation. Along with

2136-576: The COVID-19 pandemic . Finner also advised Brown to contact his department in advance. He then thanked Scott for his support of Houston. According to Scott's lawyer, neither security nor best practices were discussed, characterizing the conversation as a brief one to only wish Scott well. At 6:55 p.m., HFD logged more than 100 people rushing the VIP gate, which was already heavily damaged from its breach four hours earlier. Fifteen guards were moved from

2225-806: The Compaq Center from 1998 to 2000, the PBR held a Bud Light Cup event in Reliant Arena in 2001; this was their last big-league event in Houston to date. In 1993, World Championship Wrestling held their Fall Brawl . Furthermore, the WWE hosted the March 31, 2005 episode of Smackdown . In 2005, the Arena was used as auxiliary housing and a field clinic for residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina after it

2314-766: The NRG Astrodome . The complex hosts many sporting events and conventions each year, the largest of which are Houston Texans home games, and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . The complex is served by the Stadium Park / Astrodome station , a light rail station on the Red Line of the METRORail light rail system. It also includes one of the world's largest parking lots (holding 26,000 total) and sees nearly 750 events yearly. Until 2005,

2403-686: The " Astro Arena ", is a 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m ) sports center. It was completed in 1971 and located adjacent to the Astro Hall (later renamed the Reliant Hall), which was later demolished in May 2002 to make room for more parking. The Arena has been the home of several different events, including the Houston Hotshots , Houston's former indoor soccer team and smaller wrestling events such as WCW Thunder . With fixed seating in

2492-455: The 2013 accident happened. Carlos Huertas and Simon Pagenaud won the two Verizon indyCar Series races of the weekend. The track was sponsored by JAGFlo in 2007. The fastest official race lap records at Houston-NRG Park (JAGFlo Speedway at Reliant Park ) are listed in: 29°40′56″N 95°24′31″W  /  29.68222°N 95.40861°W  / 29.68222; -95.40861 Astroworld Festival crowd crush On November 5, 2021,

2581-673: The Chills stage. Around this time, a video from a member of the crowd showed a person calling for help and security assisting another as they were examined. Scott was set to perform on the first night of the Astroworld Festival, with a countdown timer appearing thirty minutes before his set. Attendees cited by the Houston Chronicle , CNN , and ABC News said that as crowds from the last three of eight guest artists' concerts for Yves Tumor , Don Toliver and SZA at

2670-474: The District Chief only a map to compensate. McLeod's request for radios was also denied, later supplanted with a cellphone number, which ScoreMore's plans indicated would be slow and unreliable due to extra network traffic. At approximately 10:00 a.m., a crowd attempted to pull down barricades and rush a checkpoint, and ignited small fireworks. A girl was trampled and her foot became stuck between

2759-548: The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, NRG Center hosts some of the largest conventions and trade shows in Houston. Some examples of these events are the Offshore Technology Conference, Nutcracker Market, Houston Auto Show , International Gem & Jewelry Show, Houston Gun Collector's and Antique Show, and the Houston Boat, Sport and Travel Show - to name a few. The NRG Arena , formerly known as

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2848-740: The New England Patriots defeated the Carolina Panthers 32-29 and where the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy took place. The stadium also hosted Super Bowl LI (held February 5, 2017), also won by the Patriots after storming back from down 25 points to the Atlanta Falcons, winning 34–28 in overtime. NRG Stadium hosted WrestleMania XXV on April 5, 2009, with a sellout attendance of 72,774 and

2937-671: The aftermath of the tragedy, there was widespread criticism of the event's management and the actions of Scott and other organizers. Investigations revealed that the initial event-operations plan did not adequately address potential crowd surges or mosh pit safety, despite previous incidents at Scott's concerts. The lack of coordination among security and emergency services exacerbated the situation. The Astroworld Festival incident has prompted calls for stricter regulations and better safety measures at live events. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against Scott, Live Nation, and other parties involved, with allegations of negligence and failure to ensure

3026-481: The area. At approximately 9:43 p.m., the attorney of one of the victims who later died confirmed the victim had been photographed in the medical tent with a disfigured face as a result of being stepped on by the crowd. During Scott's next song, a group of concertgoers in the crowd's western quadrant began chanting "Stop the show!", which those in the southern quadrant had tried 40 minutes prior but their requests went unheeded. At 9:55 p.m., an audience member

3115-622: The arena was renamed as the NRG Arena , after the sponsor, Reliant Energy, had been acquired and absorbed into NRG Energy . NRG Park NRG Park , formerly Reliant Park and Astrodomain , is a complex in Houston , named after the energy company NRG Energy . It is located on Kirby Drive at the South Loop West Freeway ( I-610 ). This complex of buildings encompasses 350 acres (1.4 km ) of land and consists of four venues: NRG Stadium , NRG Center , NRG Arena and

3204-515: The concert while it was in progress; they first learned about the severity of the incident at the restaurant and immediately left. By 2:13 a.m., a reunification area for missing persons had been set up at the Wyndham Houston Hotel and in a press conference at NRG Park, authorities announced the incident's initial death toll of eight victims. In its first statement of condolences at about 6:00 a.m., Astroworld announced in

3293-495: The concert's Unified Command—which consisted of Houston police, festival security, festival production staff, ParaDocs dispatchers, and Harris County Emergency Core dispatchers—reported the main stage had been compromised. They instructed their helicopter to investigate because video showed fans were unable to escape from the area closest to the stage. Because the breach was limited to a single section, an official advised standing by and waiting for concert management. At 9:12 p.m.,

3382-400: The concert's opening, ParaDocs' chief dispatcher Jon Saltzman told Business Insider Unified Command, where he was stationed, received reports of at least three attendees suffering smoke inhalation from the stage's fireworks; then, his radio check-ins to supervisors stationed at forward triage positions were responded to with what he deciphered to be at least three reports of cardiac arrest ,

3471-559: The concert's projection screens with exposed wiring to escape the crush or for better views that were not stopped by authorities. A couple searching for missing shoes and a phone amid the chaos told The Washington Post they eventually found six phones, learning later that two belonged to those who had died. Some medical personnel, including former combat medics, recalled to USA Today that their colleagues wept while working on 11 young concertgoers in cardiac arrest at once in both an over-capacity medical tent and an unforgiving crowd. At

3560-404: The concert. One formerly unidentified victim was later identified to be 23-year-old Axel Acosta. Twenty-two-year-old student Bharti Shahani was declared brain dead on November 9 and died the next day. Nine-year-old boy Ezra Blount, who was placed in a medically induced coma after being crushed and trampled at the concert, died on November 14. It was the highest number of accidental deaths at

3649-426: The county from using services other than those offered by Contemporary Services Corporation (CSC). As a result, on November 4, Harris County officials signed an amendment to the contract with ScoreMore providing more staff. Showrunners Live Nation and ScoreMore contracted Seyth Boardman, co-founder of live-entertainment risk-management company B3 Risk Solutions, for Astroworld as its safety-and-risk director; Boardman

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3738-476: The crowd pressed forward and surged from the sides, causing a crush near the stage; he added the crush was caused by issues close to the stage, where the crowd was tightly packed, rather than by obstructed exits. As people struggled to remain standing, several began to fall and many were injured. Panic grew as Scott started the second song of his set and the remaining escape routes shrank, and several attendees attempted to climb over barricades. At 9:11 p.m.,

3827-505: The crowd while jogging offstage, saying: "I love y'all. Make it home safe. Good night!" Several veteran ParaDocs supervisors, including one who was trapped in the southern quadrant attempting to assist three concertgoers in critical condition while being protected by some attendees, told Business Insider the majority of the patients they were attempting to resuscitate had no signs of physical trauma, such as stepped-on faces or chests, but had fixed and dilated pupils—signs of anoxia —as

3916-420: The crowd, asking twice and was joined by one of the two others on stage again for "two hands in the sky". Many people complied and Scott said: "Y'all know what you came to do, Chase B, let's go". Scott continued the concert, telling the crowd he wanted to hear the ground shake, then sending the two people who were on stage to dive off and crowd-surf. As Scott was starting to sing at approximately 9:34 p.m.,

4005-484: The crowd. Another victim described to the Associated Press how the desperation in the crowd eventually increased to "every man for himself". An HPD officer was then warned by an unidentified official on the radio that they were having structural issues that could be catastrophic. One concertgoer claimed on Twitter that security responded to his pleas for help by saying that they could not do anything to stop

4094-435: The day. According to early reporting, Live Nation provided another 755 security officers. These totals were later called into question, with no secondary verification of these numbers. HPD Chief Troy Finner disputed Live Nation's totals; he described record-keeping from the subsidiaries under their purview as "not good". Paramedic cover was provided by ParaDocs Worldwide, a contractor from Brooklyn, New York , that established

4183-534: The declaration wasn't reaching officials such as police effectively. The HPD Assistant Chief with several officials told festival promoters the show should not continue but according to Houston Chronicle , Chief Finner, following consultation with local officials, decided to defer this decision to festival management, production and Travis Scott, citing his department's lack of power. Several officials told The New York Times some workers did not follow proper protocol in identifying suspected deceased persons by code over

4272-505: The end of the year. The Astrodome has been closed to the general public since 2008 because of fire code violations, and was to undergo renovations in October 2018 to become a multi-purpose event center. The floor of the stadium would have been raised and would have created over 1,000+ parking spaces, while the top floor would be used for events. The project was supposed to start in October 2018 and be completed sometime in 2020. Harris County

4361-609: The entrances or on the grounds abandoned wristbanding, pat-downs, and directional posts, and later that night alcohol and drugs were seen in the possession of numerous attendees, especially in the merchandise section. By about 3:15 p.m., HPD started to report dangerous crowd conditions. An EMT dealing with an expected influx of people seeking medical help for overdoses said their understaffed medical teams became overwhelmed with traumatic injuries by 8:15 p.m. and they had to stop documenting patients and start triage . After running out of medical equipment and naloxone , treatment

4450-542: The event. Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner stated more than 1,000 security staff and police were present; the exact number of police was estimated at 530, more than double the number at 2019's Astroworld event, with only about 240 police officers. NRG Park, which is owned and managed by Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation (HCSCC), had significantly expanded its operation compared with those of prior festivals. Houston Police Department (HPD) Chief Troy Finner said on November 10 his department had no part in

4539-489: The fence in the Green Lot was damaged by an individual using bolt cutters . By 2:00 p.m. a VIP entrance completely broke down after at least 200 fans surged through its barricades and checkpoints, knocking over metal detectors and trampling several attendees. At least one person was injured and by 2:30 p.m., at least six were detained for trespassing. According to multiple eyewitness accounts, authority figures at

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4628-528: The festival's outer perimeter. At 7:00   a.m., HFD and HPD set up their command post in the Orange Lot, more than 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the festival main stage. In the planning documents, a second incident command post in the Purple Lot was outlined. HFD chief Sam Peña stated he was not aware of the second command post and no firefighters were posted there. At 8:15   a.m., HFD received

4717-488: The festival's secondary stage where Don Toliver was performing. Between approximately 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., a meeting that took place in Travis Scott's trailer included Chief Finner, Scott, and Scott's personal security manager Michael Brown. Finner said he relayed concerns about the unruly crowd, advised Scott's team to be cautious about their messaging on social media, and urged awareness of social unrest and

4806-408: The front of the crowd; they confirmed multiple injuries to Unified Command but the concert continued. Concertgoers recorded staff performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on unconscious attendees by 9:28 p.m. Because medical personnel were overwhelmed in triage, audience members also attempted to perform CPR. Several people were administered naloxone . At approximately 9:30 p.m.,

4895-585: The grounds' first opening at 10   a.m., with no immediate evidence of recovery or the number of people who entered. A security guard was injured and medics attended four more people. Around 9:30   a.m., associates of HFD Assistant Chief and event-emergency designee Michelle McLeod and the Chief of the closest fire district, Section 21 said the latter were denied venue access for a preparatory dry run of NRG Park by an employee at Contemporary Services Corporation , and again by their head of security, who gave

4984-565: The grounds' only other stage, 'Thrills', finished prior to Scott's countdown, they boxed-in the crowd already waiting front-and-center at the 'Chills' stage solely being used that day for Scott's performance. With barriers, then the sound and lighting stands, followed by concessions just behind that initial crowd directly in front, they were left with nowhere to escape, and compression worsened until breathing became difficult. According to HPD logs, by approximately 8:52 p.m. nearly 300 people had been treated, which ParaDocs CEO Pollak later said

5073-418: The highest number he and his colleagues had seen at any event they had worked. Saltzman told the festival dispatcher at command to shut down the festival then waited for a response he implied he never received. At 9:18 p.m., HFD received its first report of an injury related to breathing issues and a perceived crush. At 9:21 p.m., staff among the event's private medical contractors were dispatched to

5162-581: The latest events to come through NRG Arena are the And 1 Mix Tape Tour, Hannah Montana , The Cheetah Girls , and Sesame Street Live . The NRG Astrodome, formerly known as just the Houston Astrodome, is called the "Eighth Wonder of the World" by many as it is the first domed structure of its size created without a pillar supporting it in the center. The Astrodome opened for business on April 9, 1965, and

5251-659: The likes of historic recording artists such as Elvis Presley. Until 2002, NRG Astrodome was also the host of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the largest of its kind in the world. The last concert in NRG Astrodome was the largest attended event ever in the building, featuring George Strait on March 3, 2002, at the Livestock Show and Rodeo where he sang to 68,266 people. The Astrodome (and NRG Park in general) gained nationwide attention in September 2005 when it

5340-479: The lot also served as a parking lot for Six Flags Astroworld , which has since closed. Since 2018, it served as the site of the Astroworld Festival , an annual music festival run by Travis Scott , which became the site of a deadly crowd crush in 2021. NRG Stadium, home to the Houston Texans and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, was the home of Super Bowl XXXVIII (held February 1, 2004), where

5429-432: The main arena for 5,800 and floor space encompassing approximately 25,000 square feet (2,300 m ), Reliant Arena is ideal for general sessions and events for less than 10,000. NRG Arena's pavilion also provides 1,700 fixed seats and is surrounded by over 325,000 square feet (30,200 m ) of exhibit space divisible into four halls. NRG Arena also includes over 18,000 square feet (1,700 m ) of meeting space. Some of

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5518-400: The main gate to the corridor between the front barricade and the main stage to escort away from that zone anyone not allowed there; no headsets were given to receive instruction nor radios for communication from supervisors. By 7:00 p.m., an attendee said she was being pressed against barricades at the main stage. By 8:39 p.m., security lifted at least five fans over pen barricades near

5607-520: The metal bars of a barricade; a police officer responded by discharging his TASER into the sky. Several injured concertgoers were taken to the hospital that morning, a process that continued throughout the afternoon. Starting at 11:00 a.m., according to HFD logs, crowds at both lines for merchandise vendors became volatile, causing one to shut down by 12:00 p.m. to avoid endangering both those waiting and those working their tables. At 12:17 p.m., staff lost control of another checkpoint and

5696-461: The other's backboard had no straps. After propping the board up on a fence, the woman's unconscious body slid off and hit the ground head first. The victim died several days later at a hospital. At approximately 9:42 p.m., Scott stopped performing mid-song for his third and final time after noticing an unconscious attendee. Security team members provided first aid and he resumed the performance. A video showed an unconscious man being carried from

5785-429: The platform and continued to film. Multiple mayday requests from other operators went unheeded and the media towers to which they were trying to escape were being climbed by other desperate attendees. At approximately 9:35 p.m., a graduate assistant attending the concert who also worked as a firefighter and EMT confirmed their inability to find a pulse on a 22-year-old woman whose skin had turned grayish-blue as

5874-582: The race teams were located in NRG Arena. Due to the merger between Champ Car and the Indy Racing League in 2008 , the 2008 Grand Prix of Houston was canceled. On March 28, 2012, the Verizon IndyCar Series announced that Grand Prix of Houston would return in 2013 to the temporary circuit in NRG Park. The first race since the merger was a doubleheader and the races were won by Scott Dixon and Will Power. The weekend also featured

5963-469: The radio the show would soon end but it continued. From 9:40 p.m. to 9:50 p.m., some HFD firefighters saw five patients at the medical tent whose hearts had stopped. At 9:53 p.m., HFD officials upgraded the incident to 'Level 2', sending 12 more units, and a mass-casualty declaration was entered into department logs. Scott's lawyer McPherson said he believed festival management, via his in-ear monitors, informed Scott just before 10:00 p.m.

6052-413: The radio. At about 9:40 p.m., the first HFD ambulances reached the gate behind the main stage and were diverted to another area in response to a cardiac arrest. Security misdirected at least one of the district chiefs of those units to a gate 0.5 mi (0.80 km) from the medical tent, which wasted minutes when patrons were likely dying. A HPD official advised several inquiring HFD officials on

6141-404: The safety of attendees. The incident remains a stark reminder of the importance of comprehensive planning and rapid response to emergencies. On June 29, 2023, a Texas grand jury declined to indict Scott or anyone associated with the concert. American rapper Travis Scott founded the annual Astroworld Festival music event in 2018, taking its name from his third studio album that was released

6230-563: The same year. Astroworld 2021 was organized and managed by Live Nation and its affiliates. Apple Music would live-stream Scott's performance. The 2021 festival was to be held over two consecutive nights. Tickets sold out in under an hour after going on sale in May. Over 100,000 people were expected to attend. Authorities planned to limit first-night attendees to 70,000. Later, attendee numbers were further reduced to 50,000, although city fire codes permitted up to 200,000 people. The city of Houston and Harris County organized security for

6319-449: The scene and called off any more of its paramedics from heading to the incident. At 12:20 a.m., approximately three hours after a mass-casualty event was declared, the first official public statement about an "NRG Park incident" was posted on the HPD's Twitter account. Ten people died as a result of the Astroworld Festival crowd crush. Eight victims, aged 9 to 27, died on the night of

6408-507: The show as the concert was streaming live. An ICU nurse attending the concert who passed out twice from the pressure on her chest and back described her shock to CNN at the "feral" atmosphere, describing how people continued to trample those on the ground to get to the front despite their screams. Two guests in the rear disabled-accessible section told the Houston Chronicle they saw 50 to 60 people climbing two stories up onto

6497-467: The show continued, deciding with several colleagues it was too dangerous to enter the crush and attempt to help the injured. Event organizers had estimated HPD had logged 5,000 non-ticket holders entering the venue after the various breaches, with an approximate 55,000 total in attendance at 9:02 p.m. that night. NRG Park Manager Miller later told HCSCC Chairman of the Board Edgar Colón in

6586-407: The show would need to conclude; according to Scott, this was only a message the show must end after its guests appeared onstage, and he was not given a reason the performance was being cut short. At 10:03 p.m., several officials overheard radio traffic from a female officer saying the show had been stopped but Scott and Drake were still performing. Footage from the event showed police officers near

6675-618: The stage pointing their phones at the stage while the performance continued, at least 15 minutes after the mass-casualty event was declared. At 10:13 p.m., doctors at Ben Taub Hospital declared the festival's first fatality. Scott's set finished between 10:10 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. Some reports said he finished his originally planned 25-song set but others said it ended thirty minutes earlier than scheduled. From 10:46 p.m. to 11:18 p.m., seven others were pronounced dead by four other Houston hospitals. By 11:00 p.m., HFD officials had dispatched 55 of its own units to

6764-452: The stage told Dallas ABC affiliate WFAA-TV when he complained to a staff member, he was told, "It's a mosh pit, what do you expect?" Another told Rolling Stone he witnessed unconscious concertgoers being crowd-surfed to safety. Several attendees told KTRK-TV , the local owned-and-operated ABC station in Houston, that the piles of people in some areas became two bodies deep, and that some tried to help, only to be sucked further into

6853-423: The supporting bars together as they began to buckle under the pressure. Disregarding protocol prohibitive to personal harm, an EMT contracted with ParaDocs described on TikTok they had to reject desperate concertgoers grabbing him to assist others he knew were likely dead; music was too loud for radio traffic to be heard and a crowd that did not care about those around them. One fan who was 40 feet (12 m) from

6942-472: The tragic events. On the night of the event, the crowd surged during Travis Scott's performance, resulting in a human crush that caused multiple fatalities and injuries. Despite warnings and visible signs of distress in the crowd, the concert continued, leading to chaos and panic. The response from security and medical personnel was overwhelmed by the scale of the incident, highlighting significant gaps in planning and preparedness for such large-scale events. In

7031-527: The writing or agreements of the original contract. NRG park staff had asked HPD to close two major thoroughfares outside the festival's site beginning November 3 to prevent stampedes; as of November 10, there was no confirmation the request was granted. Weeks before the festival, NRG's park's General Manager Mark Miller noted repeated concerns about the "ratio of guests to staff". Live Nation subsidiary ScoreMore Shows offered to remedy this by providing more staff. Exclusivity agreements for NRG Park prevented

7120-460: Was also a longtime manager at CSC, resulting in conflicts of interest on budgetary issues, staffing, and security protocol. The initial version of the event-operations plan prepared by ScoreMore contained eventualities such as deaths, traumatic injuries, severe weather, an active shooter, civil unrest, lost persons, missing children, and unruly fans. It did not contain plans for crowd surges or mosh pit safety. Additionally, prior incidents such as

7209-590: Was deemed that the Reliant Astrodome would be insufficient for comfortably housing over 30,000 residents. On July 16, 2007, the arena played host to the first indoor stop on the 2007 Vans Warped Tour . On July 13, 2008, the arena hosted Total Nonstop Action Wrestling 's Victory Road event. Reliant Arena became the home of the Women's National Basketball Association 's Houston Comets for what proved to be their final season , 2008. On March 12, 2014,

7298-692: Was delayed by at least 20 minutes for many unconscious patients. Some medics on-hire who were not trained in CPR had to seek out audience members who were, but gave up because the crowds were too tightly packed for the procedure to be properly implemented. At 3:54 p.m., according to ParaDocs' logs, medics had treated at least 54 patients and crowd conditions were getting dangerous. At approximately 4:15 p.m., around 150 people broke and breached another gate. At 4:30 p.m., several eyewitnesses described injuries from several attendees attempting to climb over barricades to escape crowd compression and mosh pits at

7387-516: Was demolished in May 2002 to make way for a parking lot when NRG Stadium was being completed. Astroarena was renamed to Reliant Arena in 2000 when Reliant Energy bought the sponsorship of the facility. The Arena has since been utilized for several other events, including the National Catholic Youth Conference in 2003 and the peripheral events of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo . After previously occupying

7476-411: Was not unusual in his practice for a crowd that size; he mentioned only two transports to hospitals by that point, which he described as a minimal total in comparison to his past work. An EMT told The Washington Post he had heard on his radio from other staff that people were being trampled as early as 9:00 p.m., having overheard discussions to shut down the concert early. He did not know why

7565-400: Was opened as a massive shelter for refugees fleeing Hurricane Katrina . Each building except for NRG Stadium (which was configured for the Houston Texans ) hosted several thousand refugees, and local media dubbed the complex "Reliant City". This "city" was itself evacuated when Hurricane Rita threatened Texas later that month, but many returned after the scare and moved out shortly before

7654-403: Was ruled an accident. The 2021 edition of the festival, managed by Live Nation and live-streamed by Apple Music , was initially expected to host over 100,000 attendees. However, safety concerns led authorities to limit attendance to 50,000. The festival faced logistical challenges, including a confusing layout, inadequate facilities, and a significant crowd-to-staff ratio, which contributed to

7743-418: Was seen dancing on the roof of a retrofitted golf cart medical staff were using as an ambulance. Just prior to 10:00 p.m., eyewitnesses noted the initial crush seemed to be over but the crowd became chaotic again with the arrival of Drake , who performed a song with Scott. Scott and Drake started the song at approximately 10:08 p.m. before closing the show with the final song, after which Scott waved to

7832-737: Was the home of the Houston Astros and Houston Oilers for over 30 years before both teams moved out, the former to Minute Maid Park and the latter to Nashville, Tennessee (where they eventually became the Tennessee Titans ). The Astrodome has been the home of many other special events, including the Republican National Convention , the NBA All-Star Game , and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) WrestleMania X-Seven . The venue has also seen

7921-495: Was to spend $ 105 million in order to complete this massive overhaul. However, the renovations were rescheduled to 2019, and then put on hold, and then all together scrapped. The MDAnderson Cancer Center Speedway at NRG Park is a temporary street circuit that is configured throughout NRG Park's parking lot. The speedway hosted the Grand Prix of Houston , a Champ Car race held in 2006 and 2007 . The pit lane and paddock for

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