New Year's Eve Concert at Oracle Arena Brings Concern Among Neighbors

The Oracle Arena will host a New Year's Eve electronic music concert this year, leaving many neighboring residents concerned of the potential noise issues experienced during a rave held at the O.co Coliseum in late September.

It will be the first time the concert, known as POPNYE, will be held at the venue. More than half a dozen artists are on this year's lineup, put on by the promoter Skills DJ,. The concert will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Kate Girotti, Director of Sales and Marketing for Oracle Arena and O.co Coliseum said that unlike the rave held in September, this will be an indoor concert. She said the arena has done a number of events with the promoter and hasn't had issues with any of them.

The September rave known as Beyond Wonderland Bay Area, featured three outdoor music areas and was produced by Insomniac Inc. at the coliseum.

That event drew many complaints from residents in Alameda, San Leandro, Oakland and even San Lorenzo, according to Alex Boskovich, senior legislative aid to District 3 Supervisor Wilma Chan. Many residents felt subjected to excessive noise emanating from the coliseum up till 2 a.m.

Boskovich told Patch that the supervisor has been in close contact with the coliseum and arena officials since the Beyond Wonderland rave and said they promised her that this upcoming event will be different.

"[They] assured us that there would be no outdoor element at all," Boskovich said.

Should there be any problems, Boskovich said constituents can contact the supervisor by calling the office at (510)278-0367 or by emailing district3@acgov.org.