U2 to Perform First Concerts at MSG Sphere in Las Vegas

[lazarus]

Sounds good to me. With that added space I can re-up my lapsed U2.com membership and unlike E+I shouldn't have trouble getting GA tix.

Not crazy about driving to Inglewood though, when I live so close to Dodger Stadium. The parking will add another, what, $30 to the ticket price?

 

[dmalezi]

Tbh I don't think Bono's health is good enough for a world tour. I think it's probably going to be the Vegas residency in the US and possibly one somewhere in Europe. An Achtung Baby 30th anniversary show would be amazing in that venue! I'd love to hear it played front to back. I've been planning my vacations around U2 shows for 25 years now so it wouldn't be much different for me lol. Also think that there will be U2.com membership codes given the recent Springsteen ticket debacle.

 

[DeVaul]

Bono did 2 tours *after* his heart surgery, I’m not overly concerned. Certainly stadiums offer an easier schedule.

 

[wolfwill23]

Not sure if this was posted earlier but here's a little video about the sphere. I rarely get excited about Vegas stuff but I'm VERY excited about the sphere. Largest, clearest LED in existence, haptic seats, pin point sound??!! This thing is going to be incredible.

My only question about the sphere is, what will they put in there night after night that needs 17,000 seats? You can't really just put a touring band in there as they'll need to prep their media for the arena. The show will need to planned for this arena. A residency makes sense. But outside of that, what can they use it for night after night? But, I'm sure this was considered before dropping $2 billion on it.

U2 has the opportunity to blow the doors off this place. Let's hope they still have the gas left in the tank to do it.

 

[lazarus]

I remember when that tank didn’t have a reverse gear.

 

[prbiker15]

Having already seen them in stadiums twice, I have my eyes on the Sphere. It has the potential to be really fucking cool and on a relatively intimate scale.

 

[DeVaul]

Having already seen them in stadiums twice, I have my eyes on the Sphere. It has the potential to be really fucking cool and on a relatively intimate scale.

Stadium-size production with arena-level capacity. Sign me the fuck up.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I'm hoping to be able to time this up so that I can do my normal annual Vegas trip in spring, hit up a stadium U2 gig in summer/fall, and then catch the Sphere show in early 2024, after the kinks have been worked out.

If they could fit this whole thing around my preferred schedule that would be really nice of them.

 

[HeartlandGirl]

If they could fit this whole thing around my preferred schedule that would be really nice of them.

Hoping for this as well!

 

[Partyslammer]

Guesses on residency ticket prices? I'll say $300 to get in the door, decent seats $700 and up.

I would not be surprised to see far higher prices then $500 just to get in the door. And I’d bet the farm the best seats would go for several thousand bucks per ticket. Remember, U2 is a Live Nation band plus Las Vegas shows typically have much higher ticket prices then just about anywhere else in the country.

Factor in this is U2, still a huge band playing for the first time in about 4-5 years (depending on when this happens if it does) in a brand new arena-dome.... I think jaw dropping ticket prices are a no-brainer. Look at what’s going on with Bruce Springsteen’s upcoming tour and the fan outrage over astronomical ticket prices.

 

[DeVaul]

I would not be surprised to see far higher prices then $500 just to get in the door. And I’d bet the farm the best seats would go for several thousand bucks per ticket.

Maybe but if they’re smart (and they’re dumb) they’d let Bruce own the story on price vs persona and dole out cheap uppers and some scattered reasonable midtier tix to keep the place full and the headlines focused on the tech/production

 

[prbiker15]

$85 - $750 for regular tickets is my prediction.
VIP no more than $1,500.

The stadium shows will probably be $50 - $350 or something like that.

 

[dmalezi]

Bono did 2 tours *after* his heart surgery, I’m not overly concerned. Certainly stadiums offer an easier schedule.

Hope you're right, but surely he has some chronic pain from the back and arm/hand surgeries.

 

[dan_smee]

Yeah I don’t buy the $500 to get in the door theory. Venue is 4 times the size of most Vegas residencies - they want the thing full. If you choose between 500 bucks ave per seat half full and 250 ave per seat overflowing, there’s only one choice, and I think even U2 knows this.

 

[mikal]

Hopefully this doesn't turn out like the movie "Sphere".

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Here are some current rates for Vegas residencies

Silk Sonic ranges from $250 to $375
Katy Perry $125 to $375
Sting is $50 to $400

All of these venues are in the 4,000 to 7,000 range for capacity.

This venue is 17 to 20k depending on how they choose to lay it out.

Best comparison may be Billy Joel's residency at 20k seat Madison Square Garden in NYC (who also own the Sphere btw). $130 low end, $500 high end.

i'll just quote this rather than type it out again.

there's no chance this will be $500 just to get in the door.

it's vegas - so there will be an allotment of tickets held aside for high rollers, hosts, etc - but i'm fairly certain they're building suites in this place, so that will take care of that.

i don't see U2 doing the whole "VIP meet & greet" thing that some other acts do - but i'm sure there will be some level of VIP package. but there has been on other tours if i'm not mistaken.

Maybe they'll include the bono special - two tickets and two passes to Wicked Spoon buffet at Cosmo.

 

[DeVaul]

i don't see U2 doing the whole "VIP meet & greet" thing that some other acts do - but i'm sure there will be some level of VIP package. but there has been on other tours if i'm not mistaken.

The Bet On Red Zone

 

[DeVaul]

Edited here b/c these timeouts and double posts are killin’ me

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

edited because yea, these fucking time outs suck

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The Bet On Red Zone

They can bring back the lotto from the Vertigo Tour. One hand of blackjack.

Win and you're in the pit.

Lose you're outside the pit.

Split kings and they sent you to Circus Circus cause you're a fucking clown.

 

[Irvine511]

it's vegas - so there will be an allotment of tickets held aside for high rollers, hosts, etc.

What about d-bags? Will we be taken care of?

 

[U2387]

Yeah I don’t buy the $500 to get in the door theory. Venue is 4 times the size of most Vegas residencies - they want the thing full. If you choose between 500 bucks ave per seat half full and 250 ave per seat overflowing, there’s only one choice, and I think even U2 knows this.

i'll just quote this rather than type it out again.

there's no chance this will be $500 just to get in the door.

it's vegas - so there will be an allotment of tickets held aside for high rollers, hosts, etc - but i'm fairly certain they're building suites in this place, so that will take care of that.

i don't see U2 doing the whole "VIP meet & greet" thing that some other acts do - but i'm sure there will be some level of VIP package. but there has been on other tours if i'm not mistaken.

Maybe they'll include the bono special - two tickets and two passes to Wicked Spoon buffet at Cosmo.

Listen to these two guys, please!

There's no way, given the size of the venue and frankly, U2's pricing history, that we see $500 or even $300 just to get in the building. Maybe we crack $100.... but that's still not bad.

I'm almost as big on Bruce as I am U2, but I'm having fun when my U2 hating friends are all outraged talking about the news of the day re: Bruce. It gives me the opportunity to point out that U2 has always been a relative bargain to see live compared to the few other acts in their tier. Who else that draws like them uses that GA pricing structure? Where it was the lowest tier for a while and recently, is on the lower/middle end of the price spectrum?

And no, I'm not looking to provide cover or support to any of the ignorant knocks on Bruce. "man of the people charging $4k" as if it's face value and not the secondary marker. People love to twist things and get outraged these days, especially if it supports their narrow world view.

I haven't been paying as close attention to Bruce, but if there is a criticism to be had of him, from previous tours, it's more nuanced and subtle. To me, he does way less putting his foot down with LiveNation re: demand and announcing multiple dates- both at the outset and as shows fill up.

U2, for all the criticism they get, actually seem to use their clout to say "yeah, we're U2, we make you what no one else does, here's how we're doing it!"

 

[pacemaker]

And no, I'm not looking to provide cover or support to any of the ignorant knocks on Bruce.

Bruce getting sad reading these forums thinking, “Damn… U2387 ain’t gonna… Cover Me?”

 

[maycocksean]

This has really got me thinking about how much is too much for me to pay to see U2.

 

[lazarus]

I know where my limit is. I refuse to sit in the stands at this point (after five consecutive tours of standing in GA consistently), I'm not paying more than $100, and I won't buy from resellers.

Makes it a pretty easy choice for me.

For this type of special venue/limited residency, I suppose I'd go higher, but probably not by much. $150?

 

[DeVaul]

I know where my limit is. I refuse to sit in the stands at this point (after five consecutive tours of standing in GA consistently), I'm not paying more than $100, and I won't buy from resellers.

Makes it a pretty easy choice for me.

For this type of special venue/limited residency, I suppose I'd go higher, but probably not by much. $150?

Even more than I&E, the best seats to take in the production will not be right up front, so I could potentially see a limited GA situation.



Vegas bring Vegas, however, they may be charging a premium for the privilege of proximity.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Yea I don't think prices are going to be absurd and $500 to get in the door or anything like that... but I also don't think the lowest priced ticket will be under $100.

Maybe in stadiums, but arenas? No chance.

 

[DeVaul]

Agreed. And since the venue is its own production, the load-in/setup should be far easier than their standard touring apparatus requires. They can simply add shows until they stop selling vs dropping prices to fill seats.

 

[The Panther]

There were so many respectable ways U2 could have chosen to age gracefully.

Instead, they chose "The Claw", a Joshua Tree retro-tour, Ryan Tedder productions, and now a "fat-Elvis-in-Vegas" residency.

Damn them. Damn all 4 of them to hell.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i now have a migraine from rolling my eyes back in my head so hard.