AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) – The Blarney Blowout at UMass didn’t turn out to be that big of a blowout with the crowds, but it came at a price.

It cost around $500,000 to keep the peace, a lot more money than it cost to pay for damages last year.

University of Massachusetts officials were pleased with how peaceful the recent Blarney Blowout weekend was. 5200 students attended a concert Saturday afternoon featuring Ke$ha, Ludacris and Juicy J.

The concert alone cost more than $300,000.

Parking, staffing, ambulances and police cost at least another $30,000. UMass also paid former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis $160,000 to review last year’s events.

Devan Wagner, a UMass Senior said, “I think it was the big buildup, and you know we got a ton of emails about the concert, and they tried to distract us, I guess, from the whole big Blarney Blowout idea, and I think that definitely helped a lot with the arrests and everything.”

Last year, the overtime and pepper spray only cost taxpayers $23,000. More than $20,000 in property damage was also reported.

70 people were arrested last year, compared to 8 students getting arrested this year.

According to the school, three individuals were arrested by the UMass Police during the day on March 7:

  • Joseph Solimini, 19, of Andover, arrested for disorderly conduct at 10:20 a.m. near Curry Hicks. UMass Amherst student.
  • Elizabeth Pettit, 19, of Newton, N.H., charged with minor in possession of alcohol. Arrested at 2:48 p.m. in John Quincy Adams. UMass Amherst student.
  • The third is related to a domestic assault and the name is being withheld by police. That arrest occurred outside the Mullins Center.

The names and charges of the other five students have not yet been released.