Considering the number of people at Saturday’s Halftime Fest, the number of arrests was slim compared to previous years.
The Ohio Investigative Unit arrested 57 people, according to its website, mostly for underage drinking, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and drug abuse.
Number Fest founder and organizer Dominic Petrozzi said about 4,000 tickets were sold — about one-third the amount at 11Fest last spring — at the door, but he has not compiled the number of tickets sold beforehand.
Petrozzi said he anticipated smaller ticket sales but is confident the fest in the spring will be more popular.
One of the reasons Halftime Fest was smaller is because fewer big-name acts were brought out in the fall compared to the spring, he said.
“Spring had a large budget and we can only afford to do that once a year,” Petrozzi said. “We’re almost at a point where we can do that twice a year, but not yet.”
He cited other factors, too. He said not marketing the event as a number (all others were marketed as One Fest, Two Fest, etc.) contributed to fewer people recognizing what Halftime Fest was.
The event Saturday started at 4 p.m., later than usual, and many people were caught up in football season, Petrozzi said, adding that those two factors also contributed to a decrease in attendance.
In terms of law enforcement, the investigative unit, a branch of the Ohio Department of Public Safety responsible for the undercover agents who frequent Athens, saw a considerable decrease in arrests compared to 11Fest this spring and 10Fest last fall.
Arrests Saturday were down about 54 percent compared to 10Fest.
Halftime Fest arrests were down from 11Fest in the spring, too, when there were 109 arrests, said Eric Wolf, an agent for the unit.
Despite knowing there would be fewer people in attendance, Wolf said law enforcement tactics weren’t altered.
“Contingency is in place no matter what the size,” Wolf said. “(Halftime Fest) is very similar to other festivals, and there could be different responses based on the crowd.”
Wolf added that there aren’t many factors that would change their enforcement because it’s standard procedure.
The event took place outside the Athens city limits and in the direct jurisdiction of Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly, who could not be reached for comment by press time.
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@XanderZellner
