U2 Tour Set to Begin March 28 in San Diego

Fri Jan 21, 4:48 PM ET Entertainment - Reuters


By Ray Waddell

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Irish rock band U2 is set to explode on the road at the end of March, just in time for a beleaguered concert industry desperate for a major buzz-generating tour.


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The band will begin its worldwide Vertigo tour March 28 at the San Diego Sports Arena, Billboard has learned. Details will be provided in a Jan. 24 announcement. Tennessee rock band Kings of Leon will open the first leg.


Conservative estimates put the Vertigo tour's gross potential at $225 million-$250 million from as many as 110 shows. U2's Elevation tour in 2001 grossed $143 million from 113 shows worldwide, playing to more than 2.1 million fans.


The first U.S. leg will wrap in Boston in late May. The tour, in support of its latest release, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," is routed to accommodate multiple shows in many markets.


History suggests quick sellouts. In 2001, U2 rang up six sellouts at Chicago's United Center that grossed a combined $9.6 million. The band also notched four sellouts in 2001 at Boston's FleetCenter ($5.6 million) and at Earls Court in London ($4.5 million). Two sellouts at Dublin's Slane Castle drew 157,418 and took in $6.7 million.


Following two months of U.S. shows, the Vertigo tour will hit some 30 European stadiums, beginning June 10 in Brussels. The band will stay in Europe through mid-August, then return to North America for another run of 30 arena dates.


Ticket prices will average $90, with $49.50 at the low end and $165 at the high end. Last time out, the range was $45-$135.


As on the Elevation tour, the arena floor will be general admission for about 1,700 seats, depending on the building. And, again like Elevation, the tour will feature unique production elements.


"This tour will be not unlike the last production, in that the lowest- priced tickets will be on the floor," said U2 manager Paul McGuinness. "The best seats are the cheapest, and we want people to get excited."


STADIUMS VS. ARENAS


Stadium dates were not considered in the United States, partly because of higher U.S. ticket prices, said Arthur Fogel, president of the tour's Toronto-based promoter The Next Adventure, a unit of Clear Channel Entertainment.


McGuinness said another factor was the lack of state-of-the-art arenas in Europe. "The arenas in America are just absolutely ideal for rock'n'roll," he said. "I wish there was one in every city in Europe."


On-sales for North American shows will begin Jan. 29 and a day earlier in Europe. Rather than putting all dates up at once, on-sales will be rolled out over a three-week period.


The tour will carry about 150 crew members and 18-19 trucks on the arena leg, though McGuinness kept details of the show close to the vest.


"Production will be different (from Elevation), but I'd rather it be a surprise on opening night," McGuinness said. "We have always felt it was incumbent on the band to give value for money. We will have a very elaborate but seemingly simple and very stylish production, as before. Then when we go to Europe in the summer, the rules change completely, because what works in an arena doesn't necessarily work in a stadium, so we have to rethink it completely."


DOWNLOADS


It is possible some shows will be available as downloads. "We're exploring technology where it might be possible to download the show you've just seen," McGuinness said. "We've been talking to iTunes and the folks at Apple, with whom we have a great relationship, but it's not quite there yet. We're certainly looking at it."





A DVD is also likely, according to McGuinness. "We always do that, but that will come toward the latter end of the tour."

At one point the tour was scheduled to begin March 1 in Miami, but it flipped coasts and was pushed back three weeks. Despite published reports speculating that the tour might be severely delayed or even canceled because of a family illness, Fogel contended concerns were strictly related to routing.

"At a point in time we had to reorganize the tour, but we did it and now we're ready to go," Fogel said. "There were logistical issues to resolve."

Even though last year was brutal for some on the concert trail, McGuinness was confident in U2's ticket-selling ability.

"Nobody's bulletproof, but I'm not worried about the ticket sales at all," he says. "The U2 audience knows that we do great shows, and they are one of the greatest live acts in history. And they're touring on their biggest-ever album. Simply because of the size of the world and the number of places where they're popular, it's impossible not to underplay."

"How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," released in late November, has sold 2.26 million units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Aha Shake Heartbreak," the new set from Kings of Leon, already out in Europe, is due Feb. 22 in the United States.

Reuters/Billboard

> DOWNLOADS
>
> It is possible some shows will be available as
> downloads. "We're exploring technology where it
> might be possible to download the show you've just
> seen," McGuinness said. "We've been talking to
> iTunes and the folks at Apple, with whom we have a
> great relationship, but it's not quite there yet.
> We're certainly looking at it."

I hope The Stones/Cohl will do the same!

I agree, this would be perfect for the next Stones tour, lowest prices for general admission on the floor, ticket prices starting at about 50 dollars (44 Euros!) Mr Cohl,Mr Jagger-READ THIS!!!

It will NEVER happen.............

If the tickets are $50 each, how would you prevent the scalpers from buying them up and selling them on for $100?

Bjornulf

As an exception to the rule, I hear that the Twickenham shows, like with the Stones gigs, are going to be all-seaters.

To bv: I don't know, ther should be some way to prevent this. But if they really managed to get hold of these low-priced floor ticket they wouldn't go away for 100 but for something like 500 $, I guess.

How many tickets are sold by scalpers ????
The scalpers are no excuse for tickets to be that expensive.

Jagger once said that the concert tickets are resold by scalpers twice the price the Stones sold them, meaning "Why don't the people give us the money instead of leaving it to scalpers?" That was the excuse for the Licks Tour ticket prices.

One thing should not be forgotten : only 5 to 10% of the fans pay scalpers. Now 90 to 95% of the attendance are getting directly scalped by the bands.


[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

U2 are good, but what the heck does anything U2 does have to do with our best-loved millionaire Rolling Stones? Do U2 have their own line of sunglasses yet?
Maybe U2 are blind musicians. With Unimonikers for names!

None of this matters any more, anyway. Didn't anyone notice the recent US election?
End of the world. No response needed.

bv Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If the tickets are $50 each, how would you prevent
> the scalpers from buying them up and selling them
> on for $100?
>
> Bjornulf


by having a ticket allocation for best seats which dont go to ticket brokers and which are limited to say, two per allocation and are "will call".

I dont see why you should legitimize extortionate ticket prices which are at prices unfair to 99% of fans just to compensate for the 1% or so of ticket holders who buy from scalpers.

If they sell tickets at sensible prices and theyre snapped up in minutes, tough luck on those who didnt get lucky but its still the fairest system. Dont hold the rest of us to ransom just because of those who didnt get online in time to buy them

btw Bjornulf - there were scalpers back in the days (not long ago) when Stones ticket prices were reasonable. We managed to cope with it then.

Great post above, Doc



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-01-23 04:12 by Gazza.

I cant wait to hear Bono announce that all of the proceeds from this tour (hundreds of millions of $) will be going to the 3rd World countries to help them with their mounting debt. Also looking forward to his announcement that they will be doing their part in "saving the environment and foregoing the use of their private jets and limos and be travelling by more "modest" means...thereby doing their part in preserving fossil fuels. For some reason thought, I think its NOT gonna happen when it comes to HIS money and comfort!

for those of you in Europe who are U2 fans, the dates which will be officially announced in the next couple of days are as follows :

2005-06-10 - Brussels, Belgium - King Baudouin Stadium
2005-06-12 - Gelsenkirchen, Germany - Arena AufSchalke
2005-06-14 - Manchester, England - City of Manchester Stadium
2005-06-18 - London, England - Twickenham Stadium
2005-06-21 - Glasgow, Scotland - Hampden Park
2005-06-24 - Dublin, Ireland - Croke Park
2005-07-02 - Vienna, Austria - Ernst Happel Stadium
2005-07-05 - Katowice, Poland - Slaski Stadium
2005-07-07 - Berlin, Germany - Olympiastadion
2005-07-09 - Paris, France - Stade de France
2005-07-11 - Zurich, Switzerland - Letzigrund Stadion
2005-07-13 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Amsterdam ArenA
2005-07-19 - Milan, Italy - San Siro
2005-07-23 - Rome, Italy - Olympic Stadium
2005-07-27 - Oslo, Norway - Valle Hovin Stadion
2005-07-29 - Goteborg, Sweden - Ullevi Stadion
2005-07-31 - Copenhagen, Denmark - Parken Stadium
2005-08-03 - Munich, Germany - Olympiastadion
2005-08-05 - Nice, France - Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann
2005-08-09 - San Sebastian, Spain - Estadio Anoeta
2005-08-11 - Madrid, Spain - Estadio Vincente Calderon
2005-08-14 - Lisbon, Portugal - Estadio Jose Alvalade

Quite a few gaps in there, presumably to take into account the option of extra shows according to ticket demand. There will be a 2nd Dublin show on June 25th.

March 28, 2005: San Diego, CA Sports Arena
April 01, 2005: Anaheim, CA Arrowhead Pond
April 05, 2005: Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
April 09, 2005: San Jose, CA HP Pavilion
April 14, 2005: Phoenix, AZ Glendale Arena
April 20, 2005: Denver, CO Pepsi Center
April 24, 2005: Seattle, WA Key Arena
April 28, 2005: Vancouver, Canada GM Place
May 07, 2005: Chicago, IL United Center
May 09, 2005: Chicago, IL United Center
May 14, 2005: Philadelphia, PA Wachovia Center
May 17, 2005: E. Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena
May 18, 2005: E. Rutherford, NJ Continental Airlines Arena
May 21, 2005: New York, NY Madison Square Garden
May 24, 2005: Boston, MA Fleet Center
May 26, 2005: Boston, MA Fleet Center

Even if some dates will be added to this 1st list, I really think that it is a very short World Tour !!! Are U2 getting old ?

My info about U2 concerts in Holland:

june 6 - 2005 - Arena Amsterdam
june 4 - 2005 - Arena Amsterdam
june 5 - 2005 - Arena Amsterdam



'In the sweet old country...'

All dates posted are official from u2.com.

Hang Fire Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My info about U2 concerts in Holland:
>
> june 6 - 2005 - Arena Amsterdam
> june 4 - 2005 - Arena Amsterdam
> june 5 - 2005 - Arena Amsterdam
>
>
>
> 'In the sweet old country...'
>


Those were the rumoured dates for Holland. Now they will play at July 13, 15 & 16. Only the first show is announced and the 2 others are optional (when the gig will sell out fast)
The ticketprices are between 50 & 70 euro

Edith_Grove Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> > Even if some dates will be added to this 1st
> list, I really think that it is a very short World
> Tour !!! Are U2 getting old ?


there will be loads more dates than that. Look at the gaps. The Spring US leg was supposed to have many more shows as it was scheduled to start march 1st, but those shows will be moved to later in the year. They return to North America for 30 more dates in the fall and the tour is also expected to take in Japan, Australia and Latin America, finishing early in 2006.

They will play in CHORZOW not in @#$%&' katowice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Slaski stadium is in chorzow!!!!!!!!

I read something like 110 shows on the whole world tour. That's a lot!

I can't stand U2, they are on my most hated band list for that thread. But I would love if the Stones made their shows available to buy after the concert. This will never happen though, which sucks.

I am curious for what they are coming up with this time. They always have a very cool NEW sort of show. Of course they play a lot of the usual warhorses but the stage is always completely different and its something new. What i also like about them is that always start with there latest hit and play a lot from there new album. Now you can argue if that is what you would like to hear (i always liked there new albums except this time around) but at least it makes it refressing every tour.

Cheers,
Wuudy

With concert ticket prices gone thru the roof
I'll probably limit myself to one mega show
or two this year, and it will be the Stones!!!!!!

Still, sounds like another good year for rock
and roll. U2 and the Stones eh? Perhaps they
will blow some of that darn rap shit off.
I'm getting mighty sick of it.

I think 50 euro (general admission) for a concert of U2 isn't that expensive. Well still it's a lot of money but if you compare it with a stones concert.

Cheers,
Wuudy

"Perhaps they
will blow some of that darn rap shit off.
I'm getting mighty sick of it."

Damn right, Davido!!

Edward

Got tickets for Glasgow in their pre-sale this morning, they're £85 and £60 for seated tickets. Not sure what price the unreserved ones are, though - probably considerably cheaper

I got four general admission for Manchester at just £50 each.

That's a lot cheaper than the Stones were charging in Europe.

Yes, but have they got as much fireworks?