Hmmm, not sure about the starting point but I can tell you that during the arena stage of JT, ZooTV and Elevation, they played the San Francisco area on or around April 18. This has been followed by second leg dates in the middle of November. Only time I remember differently was POP but that was a big stadium tour from the start (and they hit Oakland for two dates in June).
It seems like they follow a similar path/timing pattern each tour. Does anyone remember where each of the other tours started? I think ZooTV started in Florida too (and POP in Vegas?). Since they set up camp for a couple of weeks before the tour in the starting point city, someplace warm, like Florida, makes sense.
Who knows, maybe it's time they change it up a bit (or he was joking)?