The detention of hundreds of concertgoers in Foxborough over the weekend was part of a planned crackdown on underage drinking at the sold-out show, police and stadium officials said.
More than 250 state and local police were deployed at the New England Country Music Festival. The show of force resulted in what some law enforcement officials said was the largest number of arrests at Gillette Stadium in years.
In all, authorities detained 342 people in and outside the concert, which featured singer Kenny Chesney and drew nearly 56,000. Of those, Foxborough police arrested 92 people, and State Police arrested 23 people, most for underage drinking or trespassing. The others, most of whom were detained for rowdy behavior or appearing drunk, were released.
Yesterday, there was such a long line for arraignments at Wrentham District Court that many of the hearings were delayed until today.
“Clearly, at least in the last 10 years, this was the most arrests we’ve seen after an event at the stadium,’’ said David Traub, a spokesman for the Norfolk district attorney’s office.
The crackdown at Saturday’s show was planned after police faced similar problems at last year’s concert and after two women, Alexa Latteo, 19, of Mansfield, and Debra Davis, 20, of Milton, died that night when their car struck a tree off Route 1 in Wrentham after they left the festival.
At last year’s concert, authorities detained 76 people, and some were charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol or drugs.
The last time so many people were arrested at a concert held at the stadium was in 2000 at the WBCN River Rave, when police became nervous as dozens of women were shown on video screens baring their breasts. The Globe reported that authorities arrested 126 people at the event, breaking the venue’s record of 90 arrests, set at a Grateful Dead show in the late 1980s.
Foxborough Police Chief Edward T. O’Leary said that this week’s mass arrests were required as a check on rowdiness.
“It was necessary for the safety of the fans that didn’t get drunk,’’ he said. “In 2007, we had significant violence in the parking lot of the surrounding area for people without tickets, and we wanted to avoid that this year.’’
He added: “Underage alcohol use is a significant problem in suburban communities. It’s believed that the two underage people who crashed and died last year were using alcohol.’’
Holly Gleason, a publicist who attended the show and represents Chesney, declined to comment.
Of the 92 people arrested by Foxborough police between 1 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Saturday, 61 under age 21 were arrested for allegedly possessing alcohol; and 10 of them had been previously arrested for the same crime, O’Leary said. The others were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, providing minors with alcohol, or refusing to leave the stadium after being ejected. Three people were arrested on charges they assaulted a police officer.
Of the 190 people local police detained for exhibiting signs of public drunkenness, 34 were younger than 21, O’Leary said. The youngest of them was a 14-year-old girl.
He said he expects that most of those arrested for underage drinking will have to pay a $200 fine and serve 16 hours of community service.
Most of the arrests were made outside the stadium, he said. Only about a dozen were inside.
State Police said two people they arrested were cited for driving under the influence.
“Our goal is to keep these events safe for those who go there to enjoy the music and for those who drive on the roads around the stadium, and we think we were successful,’’ said David Procopio, a State Police spokesman. “People should go to a concert to enjoy the music, not to get drunk. People need to enjoy themselves and behave responsibly.’’
Officials at Gillette Stadium, which had hundreds of security guards on duty, said the arrests were intended to reduce problems during the concert.
“Certainly, the numbers of those arrested outside were higher than at a normal event,’’ said Stacey James, a spokesman for Gillette Stadium.
He said Patriots games, which usually include a larger crowd of nearly 70,000 people, often end with fewer than five arrests.
“It was promoted before the concert that local authorities and state officials would be watching for underage drinking very closely,’’ he said. “This is something they prepared for, had a plan in place, and were very thorough about. I applaud their work.’’
