Will they sell out stadiums in the USA?

[GibsonExplorer]

I can't bring up a pair right now.

It's like 12 hours later and I can still order 8 tickets for Chicago 1 through ticketmaster.

 

[ramblin rose]

It's like 12 hours later and I can still order 8 tickets for Chicago 1 through ticketmaster.

You must have a special Ticketmaster page. I think your mistaking Chicago 2 for Chicago 1.

Nothing comes up for Chicago 1. Chicago 2, yes you can pull up 8 tickets.

 

[bfloxng]

It's like 12 hours later and I can still order 8 tickets for Chicago 1 through ticketmaster.

Again, I find it very hard to believe. Even singles are unavailble. Chicago 1 is currently SOLD OUT.

Please...post a screen shot next time you pull up tickets to Chicago 1.

 

[bfloxng]

You must have a special Ticketmaster page. I think your mistaking Chicago 2 for Chicago 1.

Nothing comes up for Chicago 1. Chicago 2, yes you can pull up 8 tickets.

I think you're righe Rose. He has a special page!
Or he's mistaking Chi2 for Chi1.
Chi1 is SOLD OUT!

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

I went and checked and I discovered what has confused some people here. If you go to U2.com the "TICKETS" sign is up again for the September 12, 2009 show. So naturally, they click on it thinking its taking them to the September 12 show, but it actually takes you to the page for the September 13 show.

So, they pull up tickets thinking they are for the Saturday show, when in fact they are for the Sunday show. I wonder if they actually sold any tickets for the Sunday show, but with the buyer believing he was purchasing for the Saturday show.

 

[badu2fan]

Shows sell out are just a marketing ploy to keep folks interested. (at every show on last tour you could get tickets the day of show at box office. (that is why GAs seem to sell out but they hold 10-20% for day of show. I said earlier the band didnt play 5 nights on letterman to sell albums. U2 is in it for the money and the braggin rights. Always have been....... They want to beat the Stones tour as the stones beat them last tour after U2 thought they had it in the bag.
There will be many stadiums not sold out in USA leg of tour. Remember the STones did stadiums arenas and clubs on their tour. Hopefully for the 10 tour they will do some fun things as well. There are plenty of open dates if they wanted to do a club show between cities.
Best idea to sell out stadiums is to price like airlines. (change price based on availabilty) They now should reduce 250 tickets to 200 or 175 and see how many sell and then reduce more untill they sell the damn place out.But clearing 1-2 million a night aint too bad for irish chaps...

 

[BVS]

They do not leave 10-20% for the day of the show it's more like 5% if not less.

Letterman had nothing to do with the tour, if it did they would have already had dates lined up and made sure Letterman mentioned the tour, neither of those things happened.

 

[zoopop]

I don't understand the $250 pricing. Yes, its about making some $$$$, but $250 is quite a bit because 95% of concert goers are paying for at least 2 tickets. If they would have just charged $160-$175 those closer seats would have been more accessible to the general public.

 

[BVS]

It's like airline pricing. First class seats help make business class cheaper. They wouldn't be able to have the $30 seats or fair priced GAs if they didn't offset the price somehow...

 

[U2FloridaFan]

I went and checked and I discovered what has confused some people here. If you go to U2.com the "TICKETS" sign is up again for the September 12, 2009 show. So naturally, they click on it thinking its taking them to the September 12 show, but it actually takes you to the page for the September 13 show.

So, they pull up tickets thinking they are for the Saturday show, when in fact they are for the Sunday show. I wonder if they actually sold any tickets for the Sunday show, but with the buyer believing he was purchasing for the Saturday show.

Good detective work, Mao. I'm not sure if when I went in the other day it took me to Chic 1 or 2. I believe I started at U2.com and then clicked the link from there but did not think to look at the date on the Ticketmaster page. I'm sure I would've double-checked the date before purchasing if I was really intending to purchase the tickets...hopefully other people will too. That could be a real problem for someone who thinks they're buying tickets to Chicago1. I guess it's just an intentional??? screw up on the part of U2.com.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

Shows sell out are just a marketing ploy to keep folks interested. (at every show on last tour you could get tickets the day of show at box office. (that is why GAs seem to sell out but they hold 10-20% for day of show. I said earlier the band didnt play 5 nights on letterman to sell albums. U2 is in it for the money and the braggin rights. Always have been....... They want to beat the Stones tour as the stones beat them last tour after U2 thought they had it in the bag.
There will be many stadiums not sold out in USA leg of tour. Remember the STones did stadiums arenas and clubs on their tour. Hopefully for the 10 tour they will do some fun things as well. There are plenty of open dates if they wanted to do a club show between cities.
Best idea to sell out stadiums is to price like airlines. (change price based on availabilty) They now should reduce 250 tickets to 200 or 175 and see how many sell and then reduce more untill they sell the damn place out.But clearing 1-2 million a night aint too bad for irish chaps...

When you sell 82,000 tickets in less than two hours(Giants Stadium), but there 2,000 tickets held back that get released later, that is not a marketing ploy. Had the 2,000 tickets held back the first day of sale, not been held back, they would have been sold just as quickly as the other tickets.

Yes, all concerts have SOME tickets that are held back, but its not a marketing ploy.

By the way, the average gross per show for this tour is going to be between $6 million and $8 million, NOT 1-2 million. 50% to 75% of that is pure profit for the band.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

Amazingly, the Dallas show is almost soldout after just 6 hours!

General Admission - SOLDOUT
1st level - multiples in all prices SOLDOUT
2nd level - multiples in all prices SOLDOUT
3rd level - multiples in all prices SOLDOUT
4th level - multiples at $55 SOLDOUT, $30 and $95 still available

This is incredible and will likely be the highest attended concert in Texas history as well as the highest grossing concert in Texas history.

Cowboys Stadium seats 80,000 plus general admission.


Predictions by various posters for the Dallas show:


Dopper

Dallas Attendance: 34,000


Moggio

12 Dallas - Cowboys Stadium (80,000/28,000/$1.8 million/$65)


Maoilbheannacht

12 Dallas - Cowboys Stadium (80,000/55,000/$5.4 million/$97.70)



Once this show is soldout, which does not appear to be too far off, there will likely be as many as 88,000 people in attendance depending on how many are allowed on the field. Thats 60,000 more people than Moggio predicted, 33,000 more than Maoilbheannacht predicted, and 54,000 more people than Dopper predicted.




Houston looks like it has strong sales as well, and definitely has a strong chance of selling out before showtime in the Fall.


Surprisingly, Phoenix sales look a little thin with General Admission still available.

 

[obersts001]

Amazingly, the Dallas show is almost soldout after just 6 hours!

No offense to U2, but the opportunity to check out the new Cowboys Stadium is likely half the draw for a lot of those people.

 

[obersts001]

By the way, the average gross per show for this tour is going to be between $6 million and $8 million, NOT 1-2 million. 50% to 75% of that is pure profit for the band.

It might be a high operating profit, but the fixed costs on this tour are a beast. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the operating costs + overhead for the 2009 leg alone is over $100 million.

 

[BVS]

No offense to U2, but the opportunity to check out the new Cowboys Stadium is likely half the draw for a lot of those people.

That's just silly. Why would someone buy a U2 ticket just to see a new stadium when they are doing free tours? I'm sure someone who wasn't even interested in U2 logged into TM and paid at least 50 dollars just to see a stadium.

 

[genesis199125]

i wonder what venue they will play in the bay area in 2010. candlestick park, maybe? since they are only doing football stadiums.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

It might be a high operating profit, but the fixed costs on this tour are a beast. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the operating costs + overhead for the 2009 leg alone is over $100 million.

ZOO TV: ALL COST: $125,000 per day.

POPMART: ALL COST: $214,000 per day.

ELEVATION: ALL COST: $70,000 per day.

VERTIGO: ALL COST: $1,200,000 per stadium show including all days before and after. $400,000 per arena show including all days before and after.


U2 received a $100 million dollar profit for the POPMART tour. They received a slightly higher profit for the Elevation tour. They then received a multi-hundred million dollar profit for Vertigo.

Even if the cost of the 360 tour is 2.5 million per show, the profit will FAR exceed the cost, since the tour will gross between $600 million and $700 million over 100 shows. Cost of 100 shows $250 million, profit $350 million to $450 milion. Thats IF the cost were that high, and its probably a little lower, like just under $2 million per show.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

No offense to U2, but the opportunity to check out the new Cowboys Stadium is likely half the draw for a lot of those people.

Well, this tour has fantastic sales in every market it is playing so far, many of them smaller than Dallas. New stadiums are nice, but I doubt non-fans are buying tickets at $95 and $250 just to see what the stadium looks like. They will have plenty of opportunities before this show happens to do that, with the Dallas Cowboys playing many home games in August, September and early October.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

i wonder what venue they will play in the bay area in 2010. candlestick park, maybe? since they are only doing football stadiums.

Maybe, they may also play two shows at Oakland stadium.

 

[genesis199125]

could they play oakland stadium? i know the raiders play there, but isnt it a baseball configuration?

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

could they play oakland stadium? i know the raiders play there, but isnt it a baseball configuration?

Well, its the only stadium they have actually ever played in that area. They played there twice in 1987, once in 1992, and twice in 1997. Also, I'm not sure how strict they are about what configuration it is in.

 

[lov12113]

Honestly, I think maybe half of the USA shows will sell out, the others will come close to sold out or have very large crowds. For example, I don't think 80,000 tickets will sell in Norman, but they will easily sell 50,000+....that's not bad for Oklahoma. And you know what...who the heck cares if you can only sell 50,000 tickets in an 80,000 seat stadium. That is still selling the equivalent of about 3 sold out large arena shows in freaking Oklahoma. Can you imagine U2 selling out 3 arena shows in Oklahoma on the last tour? That would be considered a big success on all accounts for an area that is a much smaller market than say New York or LA. On the Vertigo tour, U2 played 5 total shows in LA to about 95,000 total people (over 2 different legs of the tour). One show at the Rose Bowl this tour is the same attendance as all of those arena shows in LA last tour.

Even selling out half the shows in the US this time will still be an enormous success in terms of attendance because all non-sold out shows will come close to selling out or have very large crowds any way.

 

[Maoilbheannacht]

Honestly, I think maybe half of the USA shows will sell out, the others will come close to sold out or have very large crowds. For example, I don't think 80,000 tickets will sell in Norman, but they will easily sell 50,000+....that's not bad for Oklahoma.

Well what do we know so far about what has soldout in North America, at least of all tickets put on sale initially, not counting periodic ticket drops:

Chicago 1 SOLDOUT
Chicago 2 almost soldout
Toronto 1 SOLDOUT
Toronto 2 SOLDOUT
Boston 1 SOLDOUT
Boston 2 close to a sellout
New York 1 SOLDOUT
New York 2 SOLDOUT
Washington DC close to a sellout
Charlottesville VA
Raleigh NC
Atlanta GA close to a sellout
Tampa FL
Houston very strong sales 1st day, has potential to sellout
Dallas almost soldout on day 1!
Norman - relatively soft initial sales, but could sellout because Dallas is very close to a sellout, and Houston may sellout as well.

Los Angeles SOLDOUT
Las Vegas SOLDOUT except for $30 tickets.
Phoenix should sellout being the last show out west with tickets available
Vancouver SOLDOUT except for single tickets


So, basically half the show are already SOLDOUT. There are only 6 shows that I think one could question whether they would sellout and I think all have the potential to with the possible exception of Norman. 50,000 was my original estimate for Norman, but I may have to raise that now do to the surprisingly strong sales in both Dallas and Houston today, especially Dallas.

 

[obersts001]

Even if the cost of the 360 tour is 2.5 million per show, the profit will FAR exceed the cost, since the tour will gross between $600 million and $700 million over 100 shows. Cost of 100 shows $250 million, profit $350 million to $450 milion. Thats IF the cost were that high, and its probably a little lower, like just under $2 million per show.

Not sure where you got the daily costs of each tour, but do off days count on your cost estimates? It's hard to break the cost structure down to a single per-day or per-show cost at this point because we don't know how long the tour lasts, and you'd have to amortize the fixed costs over the life of the tour. My only point was that it's possible that their books don't show a true profit for a while, at least until 2010. It's amazing what a good accountant can do for an entertainer, and U2 have proven to be among the best in the world at managing their money.

Of course they are going to turn a profit. It might even end up being the most profitable tour in history since it's in the running for the highest grossing tour ever (though some of the Stones tours have grossed absurd amounts of money without nearly the same stage costs). They've also got global corporate sponsorship for the first time, and their cut of the merchandising is nearly 100% profit for the band. I'm not terribly concerned about U2's financial health.

 

[obersts001]

That's just silly. Why would someone buy a U2 ticket just to see a new stadium when they are doing free tours? I'm sure someone who wasn't even interested in U2 logged into TM and paid at least 50 dollars just to see a stadium.

It's not silly at all. Look at the secondary market ticket prices to get into opening day at the new Mets and Yankees ballparks. Look at the way that the Arizona Cardinals went from 35k fans per game to a season ticket waiting list when they opened their stadium in Glendale. People want to go to events in new facilities, and the Cowboys' new stadium is one of the highest-profile stadium openings in NFL history. It's not that a new stadium is the only draw, but it helps sell tickets. It's why people like Jerry Jones build new stadiums in the first place.

Whoever thought that they'd sell 34,000 tickets in Dallas was crazy - U2 could play the Cotton Bowl and get 50k; it's the fourth-largest metro region in the US. But the quick sellout likely has a lot to do with the stadium.

 

[obersts001]

Well, this tour has fantastic sales in every market it is playing so far, many of them smaller than Dallas. New stadiums are nice, but I doubt non-fans are buying tickets at $95 and $250 just to see what the stadium looks like. They will have plenty of opportunities before this show happens to do that, with the Dallas Cowboys playing many home games in August, September and early October.

You're assuming that the Cowboys aren't sold out in advance. Dallas has a season ticket waiting list this year for the first time in several years, even though the capacity in the new stadium is 15,000 more than Texas Stadium.

FYI, George Strait plays the first event in the new stadium in June, and it's completely sold out as well.

 

[The_acrobat]

I miss the feeling of utter pandamonium that surrounded U2's tour last time. Each show was sold out instantly, and it really made you feel like U2 was so huge.

Now even though U2 have actually probably sold more tickets in the US than they did on the US Vertigo tour, it just doesn't feel right. If I wanted to, I could get online right now and buy tickets to just about any show I wanted. Luckily for my wallet, Chicago N2 is the only show I can make it to due to fall being the busiest time of year for my work, and being a groomsman in a wedding during Chicago N1.

 

[BVS]

It's not silly at all. Look at the secondary market ticket prices to get into opening day at the new Mets and Yankees ballparks. Look at the way that the Arizona Cardinals went from 35k fans per game to a season ticket waiting list when they opened their stadium in Glendale. People want to go to events in new facilities, and the Cowboys' new stadium is one of the highest-profile stadium openings in NFL history. It's not that a new stadium is the only draw, but it helps sell tickets. It's why people like Jerry Jones build new stadiums in the first place.

Whoever thought that they'd sell 34,000 tickets in Dallas was crazy - U2 could play the Cotton Bowl and get 50k; it's the fourth-largest metro region in the US. But the quick sellout likely has a lot to do with the stadium.

That kind of logic works for sporting events, not concerts. Families(couples, etc) will go to a football, baseball, basketball game just to go and a new stadium would definately peak some interest for a family that hasn't gone to a game in awhile, but concerts will be attended by people who like the music regardless of the venue. A new stadium isn't going to peak my interest into attending a New Kids on the Block reunion.

I'm not a big baseball fan but when I lived in Chicago would catch a live game every once in awhile because it was Wrigley field and a fun social event. But no venue in the world is going to make my father entertain the idea of going to a U2 concert, that logic just isn't interchangable.

 

[The_acrobat]

That kind of logic works for sporting events, not concerts. Families(couples, etc) will go to a football, baseball, basketball game just to go and a new stadium would definately peak some interest for a family that hasn't gone to a game in awhile, but concerts will be attended by people who like the music regardless of the venue. A new stadium isn't going to peak my interest into attending a New Kids on the Block reunion.

I'm not a big baseball fan but when I lived in Chicago would catch a live game every once in awhile because it was Wrigley field and a fun social event. But no venue in the world is going to make my father entertain the idea of going to a U2 concert, that logic just isn't interchangable.

There are A LOT of people out there who like U2's music but would probably never go to their concert. But if you're from Texas, a Cowboys fan, and U2 is playing at the brand new stadium, I'm sure these people would be more inclined to go to the stadium. I know a lot of Ohio State fans who would probably go to a U2 concert at OSU stadium just because of where it is, not to mention it's a band they sorta like.

Some people go to concerts for dumb reasons. I once went to a Creed concert because a girl I liked was going. A friend of mine went with us to the May 7th Vertigo concert in Chicago. He had a slight interest in their music, but he mainly just wanted to see Chicago.

 

[BVS]

There are A LOT of people out there who like U2's music but would probably never go to their concert. But if you're from Texas, a Cowboys fan, and U2 is playing at the brand new stadium, I'm sure these people would be more inclined to go to the stadium. I know a lot of Ohio State fans who would probably go to a U2 concert at OSU stadium just because of where it is, not to mention it's a band they sorta like.

Some people go to concerts for dumb reasons. I once went to a Creed concert because a girl I liked was going. A friend of mine went with us to the May 7th Vertigo concert in Chicago. He had a slight interest in their music, but he mainly just wanted to see Chicago.

Yes, but this is a very small portion of concert goers, not "half the draw" as the original post suggested.