A 50 foot section of the retaining wall
on the back side of the amphitheater
crumbled early Sunday morning.
It left a twisted mess of dirt and
concrete blocks that had been woven into
an interlocking, five foot thick
retaining wall.
There was also evidence of cracks and
damage in other parts of the wall.
Structural engineers were trying to
figure out what went wrong.
The only comment came from a written
statement that blamed the damage on water
erosion.
A spokesperson for Starplex says she does
not expect this to jeopardize the opening
Rod Stewart concert at the amphitheater
on Saturday. But the city building
inspector is not too sure that city
inspectors have checked most of the
amphitheater 35 times and all
other areas have passed inspection.
The city, however, depends on state
certified engineers to let them know the
structure itself is sound.
We have asked them and asked them last
week for a
certification from a structural
engineer that that will
meet the requirements of Dallas.
Have you received that, no,
ma'am, we have not.
The certification process is
one that occurs at the point of being
able to take occupancy.
The facility, the head of space
entertainment group, would not comment on
why the company had not sent the city
inspectors certification, that the
amphitheater was structurally sound.
Just five days before it was supposed to
open, the building inspector says
that without that certificate, the
promoter may be able to open the 7500
C covid area, but not the lawn
section that can hold more than 12000.
Ramona Logan, Channel 5 News, Dallas.