[4] The title derives from the fact that it was the last concert in San Francisco's Winterland Arena, which was shut down shortly thereafter.

The Dead celebrated the closing as an approximately five-hour-long party (complete with breakfast with the audience at dawn) and invited some guests including guitarist John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Ken Kesey as well as actor Dan Aykroyd who provided the midnight countdown.

It was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA on December 15, 2003 under the category of longform video, selling 200,000 units.

[6] The DVD version of The Closing of Winterland contains the video of the New Year's Eve show, with stereo and 5.1 surround sound audio options.

According to the bonus DVD, the concert was recorded on 2-inch quad video, considered the best quality at the time, and also on 24-track audio tape.