To: Residents and Business Members of the Town of Bermuda Run
From: Bermuda Run Mayor Rick Cross and Town Council
There are times when issues occur requiring that we provide you with additional communication and perspective. The tournament at Truist Sports Park on April 29 - 30, was one of those occurrences, as it caused significant disruption across much of our town. As we continued to speak to residents during the weekend, and subsequently during the following week, we wanted to reach out and let you know that we are acutely aware of the situation, and that we gathered the appropriate parties together to address the situation for the future.
Traffic in areas of town was brought to a crawl for long periods, it was noticed that equipment was being stored in the emergency exit path behind RISE (when notified, the equipment was removed), and those trying to get into the sports park were parking vehicles outside the park - including along roads in Kinderton Village, in parking areas dedicated to events for WinMock and Hayworth-Miller Funeral Home, as well as along Highway 158 and in neighborhoods across the bridge in Clemmons.
As your Mayor and Town Council, we find this situation to be truly unacceptable as it had a negative impact on our residents, businesses, law enforcement, emergency services, and visitors to our town.
NC Fusion accepts responsibility and acknowledges that this was a poorly planned and executed event. The Mayor and Town Council directed Town Manager Andrew Meadwell to meet with representatives of the sports facilities to address the issues that arose last weekend.
On Friday May 5, Mayor Cross and Town Manager Meadwell met with representatives from NC Fusion, RISE, WinMock, Davie County Sheriff’s Office and the Davie County Fire Marshal’s Office to gain clarity on what happened during the weekend and to work together to find solutions. Sheriff JD Hartman and Fire Marshal Cameron Webb were very specific in what failures occurred and what needed to be immediately corrected.
In a statement from NC Fusion, “On behalf of Truist Sports Park, we recognize the events hosted by NC Fusion and RISE Indoor Sports this past weekend event contributed to an extremely poor experience for all.”
Austin Homan, NC Fusion Head of Operations, acknowledged what contributed to the challenges and some of the changes that NC Fusion made throughout the weekend (note all references to “we” are referring to NC Fusion):
-
Volume of People – NC Fusion worked hard to estimate attendance based on schedules and number of teams, however attendance for the soccer event turned out to be much larger than what was expected, resulting in inadequate parking and operational support.
-
Emergency Access – Once notified, RISE staff cleared access for emergency service providers.
-
Parking and Traffic – Certain grass parking lots were closed due to the amount of rain received leading up to the event. We were originally concerned that the Yadkin River might flood causing more issues, but we did open up all lots as the day went on.
-
Sheriff Deputies and Staffing – We did not have enough Sheriff Deputies and staff directing traffic on Saturday. This was a mistake by NC Fusion that was rectified between Saturday and Sunday morning. For Sunday, Sheriff Deputies were stationed at the round-a-bout for the duration of the day resulting in better ingress and egress to Truist Sports Park, which also produced better traffic and parking management within the park throughout the day. Traffic was still impacted on US Hwy 158 but was better on Sunday. However, we recognize that disrupted traffic flow conditions continued each day and were not satisfactory.
-
Communication – We have implemented a better communication plan between staff with RISE Indoor Sports, NC Fusion, Sheriff’s Office, and parking attendants to be sure a coordinated effort is maintained throughout the day.
As a result of the discussion, the Mayor, Council, and town staff were very clear and concise about expectations and action steps needed. Austin Homan stated, “We are humbly committed to learning from this past weekend and will be making necessary improvements moving forward.” Some of these improvements include:
- Developing guidelines for staffing and traffic control measures based on the size of the specific event.
- Communicate event schedules with the Town of Bermuda Run.
- NC Fusion and RISE Indoor Sports leadership staff will continue to meet weekly to communicate and coordinate schedules.
- NC Fusion and RISE Indoor Sports will submit their respective Emergency Action Plans to the Davie County Fire Marshal/Emergency Management and the Davie County Sheriff’s Office for review and feedback.
- NC Fusion and RISE Indoor Sports will designate staff to complete the NC Department of Insurance Office of State Fire Marshal (OSFM) Crowd Manager Certification.
- Davie County Fire Marshal/Emergency Management and the Davie County Sheriff’s Office will be included in future conversations related to Truist Sports Park improvements and design.
As your Mayor and Town Council, we have heard your concerns and will continue to monitor and advocate on your behalf. Our Town Manager will also continue to closely monitor the commitments made and will work with all parties to ensure accountability and follow through, as they impact our residents, businesses, and to the visitors who are critical to the success of these sporting events.
In closing, we all understand that there will be times when traffic is heavier than normal, there will be events at any of our several venues - Truist Sports Park, RISE, WinMock, Bermuda Run Country Club, or even our Town Square during a concert. Those that are sponsoring those events must be prepared and able to minimize the impact on our community and those communities around us.
Mayor Rick Cross
Town Council Members - Mike Ernst, Heather Coleman, Curtis Capps, Mike Brannon, Melinda Szeliga
