The Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera tour Justified and Stripped came to a halt after the major structural failure of the support grid at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall. During the load-in on Saturday afternoon, the Hall’s new supergrid buckled and tilted downward before completely collapsing, crushing much of the sound, lighting, and video equipment. Even though approximately 50 people were working on the stage, everyone escaped without serious injury. It was reported that three stagehands were taken to the local hospital with minor injuries.
Photo: Don Earl
The cause of the accident, the second in three years to happen at the 75-year-old landmark hall, has not been determined. Authorities and crewmembers said the collapse occurred as the equipment was being raised on the supergrid. They said the procedure involved lowering the supergrid first, connecting motors to it, raising the supergrid into position, and then raising the equipment.
Newly rescheduled shows find the duo starting things off with a two-night stand at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY, August 18-19, and continuing around the East Coast through the month. The dates continue on Wednesday, 8/20 at the NJ Continental Airlines Arena; Friday, 8/22 at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, CT; Saturday, 8/22 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY; Monday, 8/25 at the MCI Center in Washington, DC; Sunday, 8/31 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN; Monday, 9/1 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI; and Tuesday, 9/2 at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN.
The PressOfAtlanticCity.com has a number of stories on the accident and the follow-up. You can read two of the full stories here and here.