Coast Guard bans boaters from open water anchoring at Kenny Chesney concert

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a special regulation for the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers this weekend for the notoriously wild Kenny Chesney concert.

The rule — which will also be in effect the weekend of the Luke Bryan concert — prohibits boats from stopping, mooring, anchoring or loitering in the navigable waters.

Boats will be able to moor up to the wall along the riverwalk and any other river bank as long as they do not drift more than 100 feet, said Lt. Shawn Simeral, waterways management division chief.

Coast Guard officials decided to issue the regulation after receiving reports from many recreational and commercial vessels that had a hard time navigating through the rivers during the weekend of the concert two years ago, the last time Chesney played here, Simeral said.

The regulation will apply to the rivers between the West End, Rachel Carson (9th Street) and Fort Pitt bridges, Simeral said.

The rule will be in effect at 4 p.m. Friday through 3 p.m. Sunday for Saturday's Kenny Chesney concert, as well as 4 p.m. June 29 through noon July 1 the weekend of the Luke Bryan Concert. Both concerts are at Heinz Field.

In 2016, more than 40,000 country music fans attended the Kenny Chesney concert , resulting in seven arrests, 37 people taken to the hospital, and about 48 tons of garbage. Officials considered it an improvement from 2013, when 70 people were arrested.

Theresa Clift is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-5669, tclift@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tclift.