Cal is close to reaching an agreement to host the first major concert at Memorial Stadium in 36 years, in an effort to generate fresh revenue for the school’s financially stretched athletic department.
If the deal is finalized, it would represent the first concert at the stadium since Paul McCartney came to Berkeley for two sold-out shows in the spring of 1990. In the three-plus decades since then, Cal often found itself feuding with neighborhood groups about the impact of holding high-spectator events beyond Bears football games.
The Panoramic Hills Association, comprised of homeowners in the area near the stadium, filed a lawsuit in 2006, lost at trial and dropped its appeal four years later upon settling with Cal. That settlement, which included a commitment to continue prohibiting “amplified music concerts,” expired in January…