Photo via Facebook.

Updated with the Capitol Riverfront BID’s statement.

The Capitol Riverfront BID announced last week that the fifth season of its Friday night concert series at Yards Park would be different in one major way—no outside alcoholic beverages would be allowed, citing the need to “maintain the beauty of Yards Park, reduce its environmental footprint, and provide a clean and safe environment for all to enjoy.”

Since then, more than 1,500 people have signed a petition calling for the BID to reverse its decision, noting that the concert series is now exclusively sponsored by Corona and Modelo—both of which will be available for sale.

Lyndsey Medsker, a Capitol Hill resident who started the petition, has been going to the concert series since it began in 2011 and watched it grow. She says the decision changes it from “a casual stroll-down, bring-a-picnic event” to one where “you have to spend half the time waiting in line to buy bad beer.”

Comments on the petition are more strongly worded, accusing the BID of greed. “This smacks of selling out for corporate sponsorship under the auspices of being environmentally friendly,” says one. “Please don’t destroy this event,” another reads.

Despite the outcry, the Capitol Riverfront BID has no plans to change the policy for its 2016 season.

“The decision was made to remove the BYOB policy after last summer, before sponsorship decisions had even been made,” says Bonnie Wright, a spokesperson for the BID. She says the change had two major reasons: trash capacity and insurance. “Our insurance policy was going to increase exponentially, if we were going to get it at all,” she says.

It will issue a longer statement about the decision today, Wright says In a statement released this afternoon, the BID said that “a BYOB option is not possible under the park insurance policy, without which we could not offer the concerts.”

Medsker wonders why the BID didn’t say that during its announcement. “Their initial reason why was for environmental reasons,” she says. “If it’s for insurance reasons, say so and then do something to support local business. Their choice of vendor does nothing to help the local businesses and breweries who built the community into what it is.”

The BID explained its decision to work with Corona and Modelo in its statement:

We understand the disappointment many have expressed, and we are heartened by the loyalty that is being displayed for Bluejacket and other local businesses. In 2014, Bluejacket was a sponsor of the concerts and also vended in the park. The BID was approached by other potential sponsors who offered partnership opportunities, and Bluejacket declined a similar sponsorship.

We’ve reached out to Bluejacket for comment.

Before releasing the statement, the BID did not reach out to Medsker to discuss its decision. “As far as I know, no one has seen a response,” she says.

For Medsker, hearing that so many people said they’d no longer attend the concert series is a bummer. “Those kinds of events make living in the city worthwhile.”