Woburn officials flag public‑safety, notice and parking concerns over proposed Crowne Plaza boxing event

Promoters of a professional boxing event planned for Nov. 26 at the Crowne Plaza, 15 Middlesex Canal Park Drive, were told Thursday by the Woburn City License Commission that the show cannot proceed without additional written approvals and time to resolve multiple public‑safety and procedural issues.

The Commission’s chair, Tommy Skeffington, and other city officials raised concerns about incomplete written documentation for occupant loads, crowd control, off‑site parking and the statutory municipal notice the state must give when issuing a boxing license. “The commission shall notify a municipality in writing of the issuance of a license for an event scheduled to take place therein within 24 hours of its issuance,” Skeffington said while reading text the commission cited from the state statute; the commission said it did not receive that notice from the state within the required period.

The issue is both procedural and operational. Peter Zimbor and Nick DeSalvo of Boston Boxing Promotions described the company’s experience staging similar late‑November cards in other communities and said they had applied to the state and planned to use the hotel ballroom with a boxing ring, spectator seating and on‑site concessions. Andrea Manny, general manager of the Crowne Plaza, said the hotel has hosted weigh‑ins and smaller boxing events with the promoter and offered the hotel as an available venue.

City officials said, however, that written documentation is missing for many items the building and fire codes and the police require: a design professional’s floor plan showing seating layout and egress, a certified occupant‑load calculation, written permission from owners of any off‑site parking the promoter intends to use, plans for exterior lighting, and written crowd‑control and emergency‑access plans. Tom Quinn, the building commissioner, told the applicants that a professional floor plan and explicit numbers for seating and egress are essential before the city can assess compliance with building and fire codes. “The numbers are critical to me to make sure the egress works,” Quinn said.

Captain Murphy, the police liaison to the commission, noted the date chosen — the night before Thanksgiving — is already one of the city’s busiest nights, with heavy calls for police and fire resources. “It’s going to be crazy down there,” he said, and said both police and fire would very likely require on‑site details for the event. Fire Lt. Mark Smith pointed to required inspections and life‑safety systems: hood systems and restaurant extinguishing equipment are inspected regularly and the fire department will require clear plans for crowd ingress and egress if concessions and bars are offered inside a ballroom.

Commission members and City Council President Jeff Dillon urged promoters to secure written approvals and to consult the city clerk to explore whether the city council must exercise its municipal option under state law. Skeffington said the statute allows a municipality to prohibit an event by majority vote of the city council and approval by the mayor within seven days of issuance of the state license; because the city said it did not receive the statutory 24‑hour notice from the state, the city has not yet had that opportunity.

Applicants were told to pursue written permits and property owner permissions, and to contact Clerk Higgins immediately to determine whether the matter can be placed on the city council agenda in time. Commissioners repeatedly said they were not closing the door but that the applicants had presented much of their material only in conversation rather than in the required written form. “Your paperwork’s there, but a lot of it has not been addressed in writing,” Skeffington told promoters.

No formal vote was taken by the Commission on the boxing event at Thursday’s meeting; commissioners moved the boxing item earlier on the agenda to allow building and public‑safety staff to be present for the discussion. Promoters were advised to return with the required written floor plans, written parking permissions and detailed crowd‑control plans if they wish to pursue the event.

For follow up: the commission requested that applicants (1) obtain a design professional’s floor plan showing seating, aisle widths and egress paths, (2) secure written permission from any off‑site parking owner the promoter proposes to use, (3) provide a detailed crowd‑control plan and staffing roster, (4) confirm planned concessions and whether alcohol will be served in plastic containers only, and (5) consult the city clerk about whether the city council must act under the municipal option provisions of state law.