Attendees at this summer’s TGIF Concerts in the Parks series in Carlsbad still will not need tickets, but they may notice a new layout, increased security, and commercial sponsors.

The city will hold the free concerts at three parks this year — Stagecoach, Calavera Hills and Alga Norte. Attendance limits will be set based on each venue’s capacity, and once that number is reached, additional guests could be turned away.

“You don’t have to look any further than the 5 o’clock news to see why we had to do this,” said Mayor Keith Blackburn.

All the concert areas will be fenced this year, but with more space than in previous years to make it easier for attendees to move around and visit friends, booths or restrooms without leaving the secure area, said police Capt. Reid Shipley. There also will be more police officers and private security guards.

“We tried to adopt an approach that would provide a safe and secure environment while still maintaining the same inviting community feel that our residents and visitors are used to,” Shipley said.

The City Council also considered adding an electronic ticketing system, which would cost close to $50,000 in its first year, or a less expensive option of requiring attendees to wear wristbands. The council said those ideas would be expensive, unnecessary and too much of a change for what have long been friendly neighborhood events.

Also considered was a system using metal detectors or other devices to screen all entrants to the secured concert area. That would have required an ordinance amending the city code, which the council chose not to pursue.

The council approved a pilot sponsorship program that will allow interested companies to purchase various levels of promotional signs and activities. Money raised by the program will help cover the costs of the concert series.

This year’s concerts are scheduled for Friday evenings from June 21 through Aug. 16. The first four will be at Stagecoach, then three at Calavera Hills, followed by two at Alga Norte. The lineup of performers will be announced in May.

Poinsettia Community Park, which has hosted the outdoor concerts in the past, has been ruled out for the shows this year.

“This is primarily for safety and security,” said Library and Cultural Arts Director Suzanne Smithson, adding that access to the Poinsettia concert venue can be difficult for vehicles and for individuals with disabilities because “the entrances and exits are all on quite a slope.”

Carlsbad started the summer series in the 1980s and has been ramping the event back up after suspending it during 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The city held nine concerts in 2022, but attendance was down from previous years.

Attendance increased in 2023, when because of a budget shortfall the city reduced the series to six events from the nine shows held in previous years. More people showed up, perhaps because there were fewer shows, and the numbers spiked at more than 7,000 attendees at each of the final two shows.

The record attendance raised new concerns about security, and the Police Department, working with the Library and Cultural Arts Department, proposed the changes.

In December, the City Council approved spending an additional $200,000 on the events during the current fiscal year that ends June 30. An additional $440,000 will be requested in the 2024-25 budget.