It’s not even mid-July and much of the lawn at Saratoga Performing Arts Center is destroyed.

Those who have attended New York City Ballet shows this week in the Saratoga Spa State Park facility sent pictures of the famous grassy hill at SPAC, which they say has turned into a mound of mostly packed dirt.

They say SPAC management should not have allowed Live Nation, which signs rock acts for the venue, to schedule three Phish shows ahead of the ballet’s opening this week. Tens of thousands of Phish fans attended the concerts from last Thursday through Saturday. Driving rain pounded the SPAC property before crowds arrived for Thursday night’s show. Some say the weather and crowds combined to leave the lawn in poor condition for SPAC’s American Girl night Wednesday, when girls were allowed to bring their dolls and sit on the lawn for $10. Some in the crowd said it was difficult to find a decent patch of grass to sit on.

SPAC’s President and Executive Director Marcia White responded in a statement: “As an outdoor venue, one of our greatest assets is our beautiful park setting. However, this also means that we are vulnerable to the damage that can be caused by the weather, as evidenced by the current condition of SPAC’s lawn. Our harsh winter, late spring and the torrential rains of the past month have taken a toll on our lawn, which we deeply regret. However, the exhilarating, world-class performances on our stage and the ambiance of the Spa State Park still offer an experience that is second to none.”

They say the same thing happened at SPAC last summer, when Phish performed consecutive shows prior to the ballet’s arrival. The matter of the mostly dead lawn comes as officials prosecute more than 200 arrests made at the three Phish shows at SPAC. Nearly half of those were made by state Park Police, even though the same unit arrested only nine persons at the three two Dave Matthews Band concerts held at SPAC this spring, according to the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

What do you think? Is there an issue here?