Concerts banned at SoFi Plaza area after more than 100 noise complaints flooded police

By Mika Edwards

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    INGLEWOOD, California (KCAL, KCBS) — Following a surge of noise complaints from last weekend’s HARD Summer techno-music festival outside SoFi Stadium, Inglewood is banning music stages at the venue’s elevated American Airlines Plaza.

In a statement released Friday, Inglewood Mayor James Butts said the elevated stage in the plaza was determined to be a “major contributor to the issue.”

“Consequently, no stages will be permitted in this area for future events,” Butts said in his statement.

The complaints began pouring in Friday from some South Bay communities, including El Segundo where residents reported vibrations and loud booming noises from the festival.

The El Segundo Police Department said they received over 100 calls from residents complaining.

Butts said the city was “perplexed” by the issue, given the number of previous outdoor concerts held at the plaza without complaints. He said city officials worked with festival organizers between Saturday and Sunday to find ways to alleviate the problem, which primarily focused on certain “bass frequencies.”

On Sunday, HARD Summer festival organizers said they were aware of the noise complaints and released a statement to address the concerns.

“While we always operate within legally acceptable decibel levels, we have sound monitors deployed in the field to monitor and respond to all noise complaints,” festival organizers said.

Butts said city authorities worked with the event promoter and the venue to implement several adjustments to each stage, plus additional sound engineers were positioned in areas of concern from Saturday afternoon through Sunday to make any necessary adjustments.

Butts said as a result of the changes the number of noise complaints dropped dramatically, but vibrating continued to be an issue for some areas.

“Moving forward, and with the lessons learned the past weekend, we are prepared to better monitor and supervise future event organizers to minimize the sound and vibration impact on the community outside the venue,” Butts said.

The HARD Summer festival featured four outdoor music stages positioned outside SoFi Stadium located mainly in the surrounding parking lots.

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