Hot off the Press
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."
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