Would U2 be able to make another stadium tour in America?

[Vox02]

I have the total attendance of Voodoo Lounge Tour and GROSS figures and it seems correct.

Incredible results:

Buenos Aires, 5 concerts
Attendance: 344,144
Gross: 19,796,750$


Tokyo, 7 concerts
Attendance: 285,294
Gross: 27,613,380$


Vox

 

[STING2]

Billboard 2003 box score year end report:
1. The Rolling Stones
$299,520,230 3,521,217 (115 shows, 69 sell out)

The Attendance for the SARS concert was 490,952, so the total attendance for the last Stones tour was 3,030,265.
The average ticket price was $350, $50 for U.S and $200, $50 (Euros) for Europe.



Yes, but they toured Europe in 1999 under the name "Bridges To Babylon" still. The No Security tour was U.S only.
The tour started on September 1997 and ended June 1999, according to Rolling Stone.




Maybe you're right because the North American tour did $98 million and the Japanese tour did $20 million with 10 sell out shows at Tokyo Dome. The right number must be $180 million but I'm not sure.

The Billboard "year end report" runs from November through the end of October of the following year. This means that the 2003 year end Boxscore for the Licks World Tour did not include figures for the following 23 shows from 2002. There were a total of 138 shows on the tour and the 2003 year end Boxscore only reports 115.

Sep and Oct 2002 Licks Shows.

Sep 3 Fleet Center
Sep 5 CMGI Field
Sep 8 Orpheum Theater
Sep 10 United Center
Sep 13 Comiskey Park
Sep 16 Aragon Ballroom
Sep 18 Veterans Stadium
Sep 20 First Union Center
Sep 22 Tower Theater
Sep 26 Madison Square Garden
Sep 28 Giants Stadium
Sep 30 Roseland Ballroom
Oct 4 FedEx Field
Oct 5 Hartford Civic Center
Oct 12 Ford Field
Oct 14 Gund Arena
Oct 16 Air Canada Center
Oct 18 Skydome
Oct 20 Nationwide Arena
Oct 22 Office Depot Center
Oct 23 American Airlines Arena
Oct 26 Turner Field
Oct 31 Staples Center

These 23 shows would probably add about 650,000 more tickets sold if all the shows were completely soldout. This would put total attendance for the tour minus SARS concert at around 3,680,265. This would put total GROSS for the tour minus the SARS concert at about $355 million making it the highest GROSSING tour in history in nominal terms(not counting for inflation).

 

[STING2]

I have the total attendance of Voodoo Lounge Tour and GROSS figures and it seems correct.

Incredible results:

Buenos Aires, 5 concerts
Attendance: 344,144
Gross: 19,796,750$


Tokyo, 7 concerts
Attendance: 285,294
Gross: 27,613,380$


Vox

For the Voodoo Lounge Tour, I'm missing Boxscore results for Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Gijon, and Lisbon. Do you have any of these figures?

 

[Vox02]

For the Voodoo Lounge Tour, I'm missing Boxscore results for Birmingham, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Gijon, and Lisbon. Do you have any of these figures?

These are the ONLY dates that seems out of Billboard numbers!

Indianapolis:

Indianapolis
Attendance:26,000
Gross: ?

Cincinnati
Attendance:34,000+
Gross:?

And Gijon, I remember a 45,000 soldout in Estadio Molinón.


On the other hand, another tremendous attendance/Gross:

Oakland, 4 concerts
Attendance:199,285
Gross: 9,431,700



Vox

 

[NoControl]

Billboard 2003 box score year end report:
1. The Rolling Stones
$299,520,230 3,521,217 (115 shows, 69 sell out)

The Attendance for the SARS concert was 490,952, so the total attendance for the last Stones tour was 3,030,265.
The average ticket price was $350, $50 for U.S and $200, $50 (Euros) for Europe.

But I found on another message board, your stats read that this particular tour including the SARS benefit show totaled 3.460 Million tickets sold. So subtracting that from the SARS benefit show is roughly 2.970 Million.

Originally posted by Soldatti Yes, but they toured Europe in 1999 under the name "Bridges To Babylon" still. The No Security tour was U.S only.
The tour started on September 1997 and ended June 1999, according to Rolling Stone.

Yeah, that's true. It's quite confusing. I think it's because they had to continue part of that tour in the Summer of '99 for tax reasons.

Originally posted by Soldatti Maybe you're right because the North American tour did $98 million and the Japanese tour did $20 million with 10 sell out shows at Tokyo Dome. The right number must be $180 million but I'm not sure.

I think that figure is more accurate too.

 

[NoControl]

The Billboard "year end report" runs from November through the end of October of the following year. This means that the 2003 year end Boxscore for the Licks World Tour did not include figures for the following 23 shows from 2002. There were a total of 138 shows on the tour and the 2003 year end Boxscore only reports 115.

Sep and Oct 2002 Licks Shows.

Sep 3 Fleet Center
Sep 5 CMGI Field
Sep 8 Orpheum Theater
Sep 10 United Center
Sep 13 Comiskey Park
Sep 16 Aragon Ballroom
Sep 18 Veterans Stadium
Sep 20 First Union Center
Sep 22 Tower Theater
Sep 26 Madison Square Garden
Sep 28 Giants Stadium
Sep 30 Roseland Ballroom
Oct 4 FedEx Field
Oct 5 Hartford Civic Center
Oct 12 Ford Field
Oct 14 Gund Arena
Oct 16 Air Canada Center
Oct 18 Skydome
Oct 20 Nationwide Arena
Oct 22 Office Depot Center
Oct 23 American Airlines Arena
Oct 26 Turner Field
Oct 31 Staples Center

These 23 shows would probably add about 650,000 more tickets sold if all the shows were completely soldout. This would put total attendance for the tour minus SARS concert at around 3,680,265. This would put total GROSS for the tour minus the SARS concert at about $355 million making it the highest GROSSING tour in history in nominal terms(not counting for inflation).

I don't know where you're getting the 138 shows for the Licks tour. Because Soldatti is right, there were 115 shows. And the above North American shows you've listed are included in the total amount of tickets sold for this tour (minus the SARS Benefit show), which was 2.970 Million.

 

[STING2]

I don't know where you're getting the 138 shows for the Licks tour. Because Soldatti is right, there were 115 shows. And the above North American shows you've listed are included in the total amount of tickets sold for this tour (minus the SARS Benefit show), which was 2.970 Million.

1. Sep 3 Fleet Center Boston Massachusetts
2. Sep 5 CMGI Field Foxboro Massachusetts
3. Sep 8 Orpheum Theater Boston Massachusetts
4. Sep 10 United Center Chicago Illinois
5. Sep 13 Comiskey Park Chicago Illinois
6. Sep 16 Aragon Ballroom Chicago Illinois
7. Sep 18 Veterans Stadium Philadelphia Pennsylvania
8. Sep 20 First Union Center Philadelphia Pennsylvania
9. Sep 22 Tower Theater Upper Darby Pennsylvania
10. Sep 26 Madison Square Garden New York New York
11. Sep 28 Giants Stadium East Rutherford New Jersey
12. Sep 30 Roseland Ballroom New York New York
13. Oct 4 FedEx Field Landover Maryland
14. Oct 5 Hartford Civic Center Hartford Connecticut
15. Oct 12 Ford Field Detroit Michigan
16. Oct 14 Gund Arena Cleveland Ohio
17. Oct 16 Air Canada Center Toronto Canada
18. Oct 18 Skydome Toronto Canada
19. Oct 20 Nationwide Arena Columbus Ohio
20. Oct 22 Office Depot Center Fort Lauderdale Florida
21. Oct 23 American Airlines Arena Miami Florida
22. Oct 26 Turner Field Atlanta Georgia
23. Oct 31 Staples Center Los Angeles California
24. Nov 2 Edison International Field Anaheim California
25. Nov 4 Wiltern Theater Los Angeles California
26. Nov 6 Tacoma Dome Tacoma Washington
27. Nov 8 Pacific Bell Park San Francisco California
28. Nov 9 Pacific Bell Park San Francisco California
29. Nov 12 Oakland Arena Oakland California
30. Nov 14 San Diego Sports Arena San Diego California
31. Nov 16 The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas Nevada
32. Nov 23 SBC Center San Antonio Texas
33. Nov 25 Gaylord Entertainment Center Nashville Tennessee
34. Nov 29 The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas Nevada
35. Nov 30 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas Nevada
36. Jan 8 Molson Centre Montreal Canada
37. Jan 10 Mellon Arena Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
38. Jan 12 FleetCenter Boston Massachusetts
39. Jan 16 Madison Square Garden New York New York
40. Jan 18 Madison Square Garden New York New York
41. Jan 21 United Center Chicago Illinois
42. Jan 22 United Center Chicago Illinois
43. Jan 25 Reliant Stadium Houston Texas
44. Jan 28 Ford Center Arena Oklahoma City Oklahoma
45. Jan 30 America West Arena Phoenix Arizona
46. Feb 1 Pepsi Center Denver Colorado
47. Feb 4 HP Pavilion At San Jose San Jose California
48. Feb 6 Staples Center Los Angeles California
49. Feb 8 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas Nevada

50. Feb 18 Enmore Theatre Sydney Australia
51. Feb 20 Sydney SuperDome Sydney Australia
52. Feb 22 Sydney SuperDome Sydney Australia
53. Feb 25 Rod Laver Arena Melbourne Australia
54. Feb 27 Rod Laver Arena Melbourne Australia
55. Mar 1 Rod Laver Arena Melbourne Australia
56. Mar 4 Brisbane Entertainment Centre Brisbane Australia
57. Mar 5 Brisbane Entertainment Centre Brisbane Australia
58. Mar 10 Budokan Hall Tokyo Japan
59. Mar 12 Yokohama Arena Yokohama Japan
60. Mar 15 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Japan
61. Mar 16 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Japan
62. Mar 20 Osaka Dome Osaka Japan
63. Mar 21 Osaka Dome Osaka Japan
64. Mar 24 National Indoor Stadium Singapore Singapore
65. Mar 26 National Indoor Stadium Singapore Singapore
66. Apr 4 Palace Grounds Bangalore India
67. Apr 7 Brabourne Stadium Mumbai India

68. Jun 4 Olympiahalle Munich Germany
69. Jun 6 Olympiastadion Munich Germany
70. Jun 8 Circus Krone Munich Germany
71. Jun 10 Stadio San Siro Milan Italy
72. Jun 13 O.Vision Zukunftspark Oberhausen Germany
73. Jun 15 Olympiastadion Berlin Germany
74. Jun 18 Ernst Happel Stadion Vienna Austria
75. Jun 20 Festweise Leipzig Germany
76. Jun 22 Hockenheimring Hockenheim Germany
77. Jun 25 San Mames Stadium Bilbao Spain
78. Jun 27 Estadio Vicente Calderon Madrid Spain
79. Jun 29 Stadi Olimpic Montjuic Barcelona Spain
80. Jul 5 Stade Velodrome Marseille France
81. Jul 7 Palais Omnisports Bercy Paris France
82. Jul 9 Stade de France Paris France
83. Jul 11 Olympia Paris France
84. Jul 13 Parken Copenhagen Denmark
85. Jul 16 Olympic Stadium Helsinki Finland
86. Jul 18 Stockholm Olympic Stadium Stockholm Sweden
87. Jul 20 Globe Arenas Stockholm Sweden
88. Jul 22 Cirkus Stockholm Sweden
89. Jul 24 AOL Arena Hamburg Germany
90. Jul 27 Letna Park Prague Czech Republic
91. Jul 30 Downsview Park Toronto Canada
92. Aug 8 Open Air Arena Hannover Germany
93. Aug 11 Stadion Feijenoord Rotterdam Netherlands
94. Aug 13 Stadion Feijenoord Rotterdam Netherlands
95. Aug 15 Ahoy Rotterdam Netherlands
96. Aug 16 Muziekcentrum Vredenburg Utrecht Netherlands
97. Aug 19 Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam Netherlands
98. Aug 24 Twickenham Rugby Ground Twickenham Great Britain
99. Aug 27 The Astoria London Great Britain
100. Aug 29 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
101. Sep 1 SECC Glasgow Scotland
102. Sep 3 SECC Glasgow Scotland
103. Sep 5 Evening News Arena Manchester Great Britain
104. Sep 7 TW Classic Festival Site Werchter Belgium
105. Sep 9 The Point Dublin Ireland
106. Sep 11 The Point Dublin Ireland
107. Sep 13 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
108. Sep 15 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
109. Sep 20 Twickenham Stadium London Great Britain
110. Sep 22 Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam Holland
111. Sep 25 Campo De Futbol Benidorm Spain
112. Sep 27 Coimbra Stadium Coimbra Portugal
113. Sep 29 Open Air Arena Zaragoza Spain
114. Oct 2 Letzigrund Stadium Zurich Switzerland
115. Aug 11 Stadium Feijenoord Rotterdam Netherlands
116. Aug 13 Stadium Feijenoord Rotterdam Netherlands
117. Aug 15 Ahoy Rotterdam Netherlands
118. Aug 16 Muziekcentrum Utrecht Netherlands
119. Aug 19 Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam Netherlands
120. Aug 24 Twickenham Rugby Ground Twickenham GreatBritain
121. Aug 27 The Astoria London Great Britain
122. Aug 29 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
123. Sep 1 SECC Glasgow Scotland
124. Sep 3 SECC Glasgow Scotland
125. Sep 5 Evening News Arena Manchester Great Britain
126. Sep 7 TW Classic Festival Site Werchter Belgium
127. Sep 9 The Point Dublin Ireland
128. Sep 11 The Point Dublin Ireland
129. Sep 13 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
130. Sep 15 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
131. Sep 20 Twickenham Stadium London Great Britain
132. Sep 22 Amsterdam Arena Amsterdam Holland
133. Sep 25 Campo De Futbol Benidorm Spain
134. Sep 27 Coimbra Stadium Coimbra Portugal
135. Sep 29 Open Air Arena Zaragoza Spain
136. Oct 2 Letzigrund Stadium Zurich Switzerland

137. Nov 7 Tamar festival site Hong Kong China
138. Nov 9 Tamar festival site Hong Kong China

http://www.toru.com/tourdates/2000.html

 

[Soldatti]

The real list (without repeats)

1. Sep 3 Fleet Center Boston Massachusetts
2. Sep 5 CMGI Field Foxboro Massachusetts
3. Sep 8 Orpheum Theater Boston Massachusetts
4. Sep 10 United Center Chicago Illinois
5. Sep 13 Comiskey Park Chicago Illinois
6. Sep 16 Aragon Ballroom Chicago Illinois
7. Sep 18 Veterans Stadium Philadelphia Pennsylvania
8. Sep 20 First Union Center Philadelphia Pennsylvania
9. Sep 22 Tower Theater Upper Darby Pennsylvania
10. Sep 26 Madison Square Garden New York New York
11. Sep 28 Giants Stadium East Rutherford New Jersey
12. Sep 30 Roseland Ballroom New York New York
13. Oct 4 FedEx Field Landover Maryland
14. Oct 5 Hartford Civic Center Hartford Connecticut
15. Oct 12 Ford Field Detroit Michigan
16. Oct 14 Gund Arena Cleveland Ohio
17. Oct 16 Air Canada Center Toronto Canada
18. Oct 18 Skydome Toronto Canada
19. Oct 20 Nationwide Arena Columbus Ohio
20. Oct 22 Office Depot Center Fort Lauderdale Florida
21. Oct 23 American Airlines Arena Miami Florida
22. Oct 26 Turner Field Atlanta Georgia
23. Oct 31 Staples Center Los Angeles California
24. Nov 2 Edison International Field Anaheim California
25. Nov 4 Wiltern Theater Los Angeles California
26. Nov 6 Tacoma Dome Tacoma Washington
27. Nov 8 Pacific Bell Park San Francisco California
28. Nov 9 Pacific Bell Park San Francisco California
29. Nov 12 Oakland Arena Oakland California
30. Nov 14 San Diego Sports Arena San Diego California
31. Nov 16 The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas Nevada
32. Nov 23 SBC Center San Antonio Texas
33. Nov 25 Gaylord Entertainment Center Nashville Tennessee
34. Nov 29 The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas Nevada
35. Nov 30 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas Nevada
36. Jan 8 Molson Centre Montreal Canada
37. Jan 10 Mellon Arena Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
38. Jan 12 FleetCenter Boston Massachusetts
39. Jan 16 Madison Square Garden New York New York
40. Jan 18 Madison Square Garden New York New York
41. Jan 21 United Center Chicago Illinois
42. Jan 22 United Center Chicago Illinois
43. Jan 25 Reliant Stadium Houston Texas
44. Jan 28 Ford Center Arena Oklahoma City Oklahoma
45. Jan 30 America West Arena Phoenix Arizona
46. Feb 1 Pepsi Center Denver Colorado
47. Feb 4 HP Pavilion At San Jose San Jose California
48. Feb 6 Staples Center Los Angeles California
49. Feb 8 MGM Grand Garden Arena Las Vegas Nevada

50. Feb 18 Enmore Theatre Sydney Australia
51. Feb 20 Sydney SuperDome Sydney Australia
52. Feb 22 Sydney SuperDome Sydney Australia
53. Feb 25 Rod Laver Arena Melbourne Australia
54. Feb 27 Rod Laver Arena Melbourne Australia
55. Mar 1 Rod Laver Arena Melbourne Australia
56. Mar 4 Brisbane Entertainment Centre Brisbane Australia
57. Mar 5 Brisbane Entertainment Centre Brisbane Australia
58. Mar 10 Budokan Hall Tokyo Japan
59. Mar 12 Yokohama Arena Yokohama Japan
60. Mar 15 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Japan
61. Mar 16 Tokyo Dome Tokyo Japan
62. Mar 20 Osaka Dome Osaka Japan
63. Mar 21 Osaka Dome Osaka Japan
64. Mar 24 National Indoor Stadium Singapore Singapore
65. Mar 26 National Indoor Stadium Singapore Singapore
66. Apr 4 Palace Grounds Bangalore India
67. Apr 7 Brabourne Stadium Mumbai India

68. Jun 4 Olympiahalle Munich Germany
69. Jun 6 Olympiastadion Munich Germany
70. Jun 8 Circus Krone Munich Germany
71. Jun 10 Stadio San Siro Milan Italy
72. Jun 13 O.Vision Zukunftspark Oberhausen Germany
73. Jun 15 Olympiastadion Berlin Germany
74. Jun 18 Ernst Happel Stadion Vienna Austria
75. Jun 20 Festweise Leipzig Germany
76. Jun 22 Hockenheimring Hockenheim Germany
77. Jun 25 San Mames Stadium Bilbao Spain
78. Jun 27 Estadio Vicente Calderon Madrid Spain
79. Jun 29 Stadi Olimpic Montjuic Barcelona Spain
80. Jul 5 Stade Velodrome Marseille France
81. Jul 7 Palais Omnisports Bercy Paris France
82. Jul 9 Stade de France Paris France
83. Jul 11 Olympia Paris France
84. Jul 13 Parken Copenhagen Denmark
85. Jul 16 Olympic Stadium Helsinki Finland
86. Jul 18 Stockholm Olympic Stadium Stockholm Sweden
87. Jul 20 Globe Arenas Stockholm Sweden
88. Jul 22 Cirkus Stockholm Sweden
89. Jul 24 AOL Arena Hamburg Germany
90. Jul 27 Letna Park Prague Czech Republic
91. Jul 30 Downsview Park Toronto Canada
92. Aug 8 Open Air Arena Hannover Germany
93. Aug 11 Stadion Feijenoord Rotterdam Netherlands
94. Aug 13 Stadion Feijenoord Rotterdam Netherlands
95. Aug 15 Ahoy Rotterdam Netherlands
96. Aug 16 Muziekcentrum Vredenburg Utrecht Netherlands
97. Aug 19 Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam Netherlands
98. Aug 24 Twickenham Rugby Ground Twickenham Great Britain
99. Aug 27 The Astoria London Great Britain
100. Aug 29 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
101. Sep 1 SECC Glasgow Scotland
102. Sep 3 SECC Glasgow Scotland
103. Sep 5 Evening News Arena Manchester Great Britain
104. Sep 7 TW Classic Festival Site Werchter Belgium
105. Sep 9 The Point Dublin Ireland
106. Sep 11 The Point Dublin Ireland
107. Sep 13 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
108. Sep 15 Wembley Arena London Great Britain
109. Sep 20 Twickenham Stadium London Great Britain
110. Sep 22 Amsterdam ArenA Amsterdam Holland
111. Sep 25 Campo De Futbol Benidorm Spain
112. Sep 27 Coimbra Stadium Coimbra Portugal
113. Sep 29 Open Air Arena Zaragoza Spain
114. Oct 2 Letzigrund Stadium Zurich Switzerland

115. Nov 7 Tamar festival site Hong Kong China
116. Nov 9 Tamar festival site Hong Kong China

 

[STING2]

Soldatti,

Thanks for correcting up the August-September repeat.

 

[nathan1977]

The Rolling Stones are a larger draw than U2, period. The Stones have always had higher prices than U2. And for example, on their last tour in 2002-03, they charged an average of $105 worldwide. U2's average ticket price in 2001 was $67 worldwide. This year U2's average price worldwide will be around $95 and The Stones' will be at least $125-150.

U2 have sold 135 Million albums worldwide. So have the Stones.

Considering that U2 has been around for -- what -- 20 years a shorter time than the Stones, and has released fewer albums, it's pretty impressive that they've matched the Stones for album sales.

As far as a draw -- the Stones' average age demographic is older than U2, with a higher earning potential leading to a higher ticket price. U2 has a younger fanbase, and the band tries to keep ticket prices down accordingly. So Rolling Stones might be a higher draw in terms of gross dollar amounts, but in terms of apples:apples ticket sales (both U2 and Rolling Stones on stadium tours), I'd be surprised if Rolling Stones beat U2 in terms of total attendance. I'd suspect they'd be about equal -- which, again, since Rolling Stones has twenty years of hits on U2, is no small thing.

 

[STING2]

Considering that U2 has been around for -- what -- 20 years a shorter time than the Stones, and has released fewer albums, it's pretty impressive that they've matched the Stones for album sales.

As far as a draw -- the Stones' average age demographic is older than U2, with a higher earning potential leading to a higher ticket price. U2 has a younger fanbase, and the band tries to keep ticket prices down accordingly. So Rolling Stones might be a higher draw in terms of gross dollar amounts, but in terms of apples:apples ticket sales (both U2 and Rolling Stones on stadium tours), I'd be surprised if Rolling Stones beat U2 in terms of total attendance. I'd suspect they'd be about equal -- which, again, since Rolling Stones has twenty years of hits on U2, is no small thing.

Actually the Rolling Stones were the top concert selling band worldwide from 1975 to 2000. But their 2002-2003 "Licks" tour played 120 shows in theaters, Arena's and Stadiums, with nearly half of the shows not selling out. The Rolling Stones did GROSS 300 million dollars by the end of the tour, but U2 will GROSS that number in just 9 months, with an Arena tour of the USA and what is indeed and underbooked Stadium tour of Europe.

The Stones will have a new album and tour toward the end of this year. We will then be able to tell if the Stones have slipped from the top as the strongest concert selling act for the past 30 years.

While the Stones have been the top concert seller for the past 30 years, for the past 23 years, they have been very weak on the album selling front, only selling 3 to 4 million copies worldwide of each new studio album release of new material. U2 by contrast has sold on average 2 to 3 times as many albums as the Stones new releases. This is why the Stones are not in contention for the biggest band in the world title even though they have been the top concert draw for most of the past 30 years.

 

[Soldatti]

According to my numbers Steel Wheels sold 6 million copies worldwide, Voodoo Lounge 5.5, Bridges To Babylon 4 and Forty Licks 6.5.
U2 did the double for every album in the same period.

Also according to industry sources the Stones are preparing a STADIUM tour this time (with some clubs shows too) starting on August 21 at Fenway Park. They want to beat U2 in that way.

 

[Hawkmoon04]

U2 can sellout stadiums on this markets:

-NY&East Rutherford (maybe 4-5 nights)

-DC

-Boston (maybe 2-3 nights)

-Hartford

-Miami (2 nights if they don't play in Tampa or Jacksonville)

-Houston

-Dallas

-Tempe/Phoenix

-Salt Lake City

-Los Angeles (maybe 2 nights)

-Bay Area (Oakland, SF, San Jose)

-Vancouver

-Toronto (2 nights?)

-Montreal

-Atlanta

-Denver

-Chicago (3 nights)

-Edmonton/Calgary

Vox

How can you not include Philadelphia here? I saw them in Atlanta during POPMART to a 3/4 filled stadium. It was aweful. On the other side Philly sold out everyZOO TV and Every POP show that was made available to them. This area would drool all over an outdoor show!! Especially me

 

[STING2]

According to my numbers Steel Wheels sold 6 million copies worldwide, Voodoo Lounge 5.5, Bridges To Babylon 4 and Forty Licks 6.5.
U2 did the double for every album in the same period.

Also according to industry sources the Stones are preparing a STADIUM tour this time (with some clubs shows too) starting on August 21 at Fenway Park. They want to beat U2 in that way.

My numbers for Voodoo Lounge came from adding up certifications around the world from a Billboard add for the album I saw. Most of the major countries and regions were included.The total was about 3.8 million, so my figure for Voodoo is 4 million.

For Bridges To Babylon, it was certified platinum in the USA, but the last soundscan figure I saw for it had the album far away from the 1 million mark. IFPI has the album at 1 million. Since USA and IFPI make up 2/3s of the global market, I added in 1 more million for the ROW. That puts the album at 3 million which may be a little more or a little less than the actual figure.

Since Forty Licks is not a brand new studio album of new material, I don't bother to count it. Its rather easy to sale greatest hits compilations so they are not a good measure of what the current popularity of the artist really is.

I don't have any figures for Steel Wheels aside from the fact that it went double platinum in the USA. Over the past 20 years, the band has sold more albums in the USA per capita than in most other countries, so I think a 4 or 5 million figure would be more accurate for the global total, but I don't have any information to show that is the case.

Also, in each case, I'm going by what the album sold in its first two years of release prior to the album becoming a catalog album.

 

[STING2]

How can you not include Philadelphia here? I saw them in Atlanta during POPMART to a 3/4 filled stadium. It was aweful. On the other side Philly sold out everyZOO TV and Every POP show that was made available to them. This area would drool all over an outdoor show!! Especially me

Notice that all four Philly shows for the Vertigo tour sold out in minutes of going on sale. Thats about 80,000 tickets at an average of 100 dollars a ticket.

From what we have all seen from the ticket sales for this tour, its obvious that if the band were to do a stadium tour at an average price of 60 dollars in North America, they could have ZOO TV levels of attendance or even better attendance. If the price was kept at an average of 100 dollars as it already is for the Arena shows, they would still have better attendance than POPMART, but would probably not be able to equal ZOO TV levels of attendance at that high a price per ticket.

By the way, the top price of a POPMART ticket in 1997 was $52.50. Today, adjusted for inflation that would be about $61 dollars.

 

[Vox02]

How can you not include Philadelphia here? I saw them in Atlanta during POPMART to a 3/4 filled stadium. It was aweful. On the other side Philly sold out everyZOO TV and Every POP show that was made available to them. This area would drool all over an outdoor show!! Especially me

Sorry!!

Philadelphia: two shows in stadiums!! Maybe Lincoln Financial Field or Franklin Field.

I know the succes of U2 in Philly since 1980!! From Bijou Cafe to Tower Theater, JFK Stadium, Veteran's, Spectrum Arena, First Union Center.. Great shows in Philadelphia

Vox

 

[Vox02]

I think U2 could sell +1,6/1,7 million tickets in a USA/Canada stadium tour

Vox

 

[STING2]

I think U2 could sell +1,6/1,7 million tickets in a USA/Canada stadium tour

Vox

Thats what U2 did on POPMART. The band is far more popular in North America right now than they were on POPMART. I estimate U2 could do up to 60 Stadium shows in North America with a total attendance of around 2,500,000 if ticket prices were at the POPMART price adjusted for inflation which today would be $61.00 dollars. Right now the average price on the Arena tour is $100 dollars. Despite that, the band soldout an arena show in Tampa of around 20,000 seats in less than 30 minutes. Compare that to POPMART where it took 6 months to sell 20,000 tickets at around half the price of tickets today. Clearly, the concert drawing strength of the band in North America is 50% to 100% more than what it was on POPMART.

The number of Arena shows in North America, now 78, has not been nearly enough to satisfy all the demand. There is huge demand for more shows in places like Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, LA, and Miami.

 

[Vox02]

Thats what U2 did on POPMART. The band is far more popular in North America right now than they were on POPMART. I estimate U2 could do up to 60 Stadium shows in North America with a total attendance of around 2,500,000 if ticket prices were at the POPMART price adjusted for inflation which today would be $61.00 dollars. Right now the average price on the Arena tour is $100 dollars. Despite that, the band soldout an arena show in Tampa of around 20,000 seats in less than 30 minutes. Compare that to POPMART where it took 6 months to sell 20,000 tickets at around half the price of tickets today. Clearly, the concert drawing strength of the band in North America is 50% to 100% more than what it was on POPMART.

The number of Arena shows in North America, now 78, has not been nearly enough to satisfy all the demand. There is huge demand for more shows in places like Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City, Boston, LA, and Miami.

Yes, I estimate a 1,6/1,7 million tickets based on the actual conservative U2 calendar with many areas that needs more shows. But, in a major tour, U2 could sellout or nearly sellout this dates:

5-6 NY shows
2 Philly
2 DC
2-3 Boston
2-3 Toronto
1-2 Montreal
2 Edmonton
1 Winnipeg
1-2 Vancouver
1 Seattle
1 Portland/Eugene
2 LA
2 Bay Area
1 San Diego
1 New Mexico?
1 Salt Lake
1 Las Vegas
1 Phoenix
1 in Kansas or St Louis
1 Dallas
1 Houston
1 Denver
1 Atlanta
1-2 Miami
1 Tampa or Orlando
1 in NC or SC
1 Hartford
1 Buffalo
1 Ohio
1 Detroit
1 MN
1 Wisconcin
1 New Orleans?

Total attendance: around 2,3 million
GROSS: around 140 million dollars



Vox