There’s been a lot of buzz about the recent success of the free beach concerts in Atlantic City this week and boy are we happy to hear it! With all the negative publicity surrounding the fate of Atlantic City and the impending casino closings, this is exactly what we needed. People traveled far and wide for back to back Blake Shelton & Lady Antebellum concerts and Atlantic City did not disappoint.
PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Gralish, Philly.com
A whopping 65,000 fans packed the beach to see Blake Shelton on Thursday and an estimated 60,000 to see Lady Antebellum on Sunday. Thousands of others listened from rooftops, boats, and beach bars. Based on the many photos we saw from the event, the sale of cowboy hats alone must have had a profound impact on the local economy.
PHOTO CREDIT: Vernon Ogrodnek, Associated Press
The main point to take away from this is something that we’ve known all along. Atlantic City is so much more than gambling. The livelihood of the city should not depend on poker chips and slot machines. Aside from free beach concerts, there are some great venues to catch a small show or a full blown concert. The dining, the shopping, the boardwalk, the beach, the list goes on. And of course there’s the athletic events like the Challenge USA Ironman, Atlantic City Marathon and Triathlon which we’ll save for another day.
We applaud Atlantic City for thinking outside the box and working to revitalize the area and we look forward to seeing what’s to come!
