Should U2 quit playing stadiums after 360 ?

[bono2012]

Well, if they did an arena tour, where would they play? I'm assuming probably 110 dates similar to Elevation. The only shows would be in North America and Europe. Unlike on Elevation, the number of shows between Europe and North America would probably be equally divided. So say 55 in Europe, and 55 in North America.

1st leg Europe:

Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Milan, Italy
Milan, Italy
Paris, France
Paris, France
Paris, France
Nice, France
Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Dublin, Ireland
Goteborg, Sweden
Goteborg, Sweden
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Chorzow, Poland
Chorzow, Poland
Zagreb, Croatia
Zagreb, Croatia
London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Cardiff, United Kingdom
Turin Italy
Frankfurt Germany
Hannover Germany
Horsens Denmark
Horsens Denmark
Helsinki Finland
Helsinki Finland
Moscow Russia
Vienna Austria
Vienna Austria
Athens Greece
Athens Greece
Istanbul Turkey
Zurich Switzerland
Zurich Switzerland
Munich Germany
Munich Germany
Brussels Belgium
Brussels Belgium
San Sebastián Spain
Seville Spain
Seville Spain
Coimbra Portugal
Coimbra Portugal
Rome Italy
Rome Italy

North American LEG:

Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago, Illinois
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto, Ontario
Foxboro, Massachusetts
Foxboro, Massachusetts
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Madison Square Garden New York
Washington DC
Washington DC
Baltimore MD
Charlottesville, Virginia
Raleigh, North Carolina
Atlanta, Georgia
Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Houston, Texas
Norman, Oklahoma
Glendale, Arizona
Las Vegas, Nevada
Los Angeles California
Los Angeles California
Los Angeles California
San Jose California
San Jose California
Seattle Washington
Seattle Washington
Vancouver B.C.
Vancouver B.C.
Edmonton AB
Edmonton AB
Winnipeg MB
Denver CO
Denver CO
Salt Lake City UT
Detroit MI
Detroit MI
Nashville TN
Cleveland OH
Columbus OH
Pittsburgh PA
Montreal QB
Montreal QB
Philadelphia PA
Philadelphia PA
St. Louis MO
Minneapolis MN


                   Right off the bat, its easy to see the problems. Take Europe. Paris France! Your using three 18,500 capacity shows for a market where U2 played 3 shows each with 96,000 people per night. An arena tour locks out nearly a quarter of a million people in the Paris market!

                    Even if you went with Turin Italy where they played to 42,000 people, one arena show there at best satisfies 40% of the demand, and probably less. Even in places like Sheffield, one arena show locking most people out of the market. Oh, and people once locked out of shows in their market will obviously try for shows in other markets compounding the problem even further.

                    In North America, can you imagine two Boston area shows with a combined 37,000 tickets satisfying 140,000 fans? Would one show in Houston of 18,500 be enough for the 58,000 people who saw U2 there on the last tour?

                    In nearly all of these markets, U2 played one or more stadium shows to average of 66,000 people. An arena show only satisfies about 18,500 people. Sure, you add multiple arena shows where you played multiple stadium shows last time, but again, its still 18,500 VS 66,100 per show on average.

                     One solution would be to simply add more arena shows, but its unlikely that U2 would want to do that since time is increasingly a very important factor in their career as well as their personal lives.

                      I still think that if the tour does not start until 2014, the band will be back in stadiums again do to massive demand. Its the same reason they left theaters to do Arena's on the Unforgettable Fire Tour.

                     A better option if they did not want to spend as much time on the road as they did on 360 would simply be to do a smaller stadium tour this time around, a smaller number of shows. You would meet more demand than you would on an arena tour reducing the problems involved with that factor, and you could do it in perhaps half the time and even get the benefit of slightly underplaying the market if such a thing is needed to prep for the larger tour years later.

[mattressjedi]

The only way they could do a proper arena tour is to add more dates than Elevation.

Im thinking more like 130-150 dates.

I still prefer a mix for the largest markets and arenas only for smallest.

[bono2012]

The only way they could do a proper arena tour is to add more dates than Elevation.

Im thinking more like 130-150 dates.

I still prefer a mix for the largest markets and arenas only for smallest.

            From the bands perspective, that becomes a lot. The most they ever did on one tour was 157 shows, and that was spread out over nearly two years. I think 60 shows in stadiums would be easier on them, plus 20 to 40 more arena shows wouldn't actually solve the supply and demand problem. I mean adding one more arena show to the markets listed above would only really make an impact in some of the smaller cities. It sure as hell would not do anything for Paris.

           In fact, going back to Paris, the band did 3 stadium shows there, each about 95,000 and all 3 soldout in record time, within minutes literally, meaning that technically, even with 3 stadium shows of that size, the band actually underplayed Paris on 360. If U2 wanted to, they could probably play 20 arena shows just in Paris.

             Thats another idea.  I wonder what the fan response would be if they did the following:

Dublin 15 arena shows
Paris 20 arena shows
London 10 arena shows
Berlin 5 Arena shows
Milan 5 Arena shows
Barcelona 5 Arena shows

Europe total: 60 shows in 6 cities

North America

Toronto 6 Arena shows
Montreal 6 Arena shows
Boston 6 Arena shows
Chicago 6 Arena shows
New York 10 Arena shows
Philadelphia 4 Arena shows
Washington DC 4 Arena shows
Miami 4 Arena shows
Los Angeles 6 Arena shows
San Francisco 4 Arena shows
Dallas 4 Arena shows
Seattle 3 Arena shows

                                 Thats 63 shows in 12 cities. Combined 123 shows in just 18 cities in Europe and North America. A few of those cities might be satisfied with the number of shows, IF this was a full tour of all markets. But since its not, demand will come in from all the other big markets that don't get played. North America is looking more feasible, but Europe is still a disaster with this style.

[bono2012]

Here is one more way of looking at the problem. U2 played to 5.8 million people in Europe and North America on the 360 tour, excluding Mexico. It would take 313 arena shows at 18,500 people a show to play to that many people on an arena tour. Whats more, demand would be even higher in that senerio because of multiple shows allowing members of the general public more options to attend as well as more opportunities for multiple show attendees to fill up space at the available shows crowding out the single show people. Plus, 313 shows, 200 shows, and even 150 shows would be a very long tour for the band requiring several years. The band generally prefers to play less shows and spend less time on the road. Thats a another factor that pushes them towards the stadiums.

[xy]

Where would they play ? Elevation programme would be a good start, with - of course - avoiding underplaying Europe and actually having 2 europe legs like Zoo TV/360, and visiting Australia/N. Zealand and S. America. They never really did a world tour in arenas.

[bono2012]

Where would they play ? Elevation programme would be a good start, with - of course - avoiding underplaying Europe and actually having 2 europe legs like Zoo TV/360, and visiting Australia/N. Zealand and S. America. They never really did a world tour in arenas.

              The problem is that there is obviously a limit to how long the band would remain on tour. A global arena tour means that the number of shows, say even 150 at most, gets spread out all over the world, leading to the underplaying issue nearly everywhere. The maximum number of shows, 150, gets spread over more cities around the globe, as opposed to if they just toured in say North America for the whole tour, more shows for each city played.

[jick]

They should.

Cheers,

J

[bono2012]

They should.

Cheers,

J

Why?

How would preventing 70% of your fanbase from seeing you be fair and a good thing for the fans?

[JTBaby]

They should.

Cheers,

J

Why?

How would preventing 70% of your fanbase from seeing you be fair and a good thing for the fans?

Because stadiums suck .

And 70% of those "fans" are casual fans who would have moved on to something else by the next tour.

Elevation and Vertigo Arena tours filled the need adequately, no I know who wanted to go couldn't get a ticket, and some dates didn't sell out.

[mattressjedi]

Where would they play ? Elevation programme would be a good start, with - of course - avoiding underplaying Europe and actually having 2 europe legs like Zoo TV/360, and visiting Australia/N. Zealand and S. America. They never really did a world tour in arenas.

              The problem is that there is obviously a limit to how long the band would remain on tour. A global arena tour means that the number of shows, say even 150 at most, gets spread out all over the world, leading to the underplaying issue nearly everywhere. The maximum number of shows, 150, gets spread over more cities around the globe, as opposed to if they just toured in say North America for the whole tour, more shows for each city played.

Underplaying is less of an issue than overplaying.

So, arena/stadium mix with about 120-130 shows.

[bono2012]

They should.

Cheers,

J

Why?

How would preventing 70% of your fanbase from seeing you be fair and a good thing for the fans?

Because stadiums suck .

           Why? Because not everyone will be able to look into Bono's eyes? Again, this is music and whether your 30 yards away or a 100 yards away does not make any difference with respect to that. The only issue would be one of physical proximity and how well you can SEE the band. You can see the band much better in a theater or a club than an arena, so why not suggest they play theaters and clubs?

And 70% of those "fans" are casual fans who would have moved on to something else by the next tour.

.

              There is definitely NO evidence of that. Casual fans usually don't fork over an average of $105 dollars per ticket to see a music artist play for two hours. They also don't hold on to tickets that they purchased for over a year and a half when they had the opportunity to get their money back when U2 postponed their North American Tour for an entire year due to Bono's back problems. Only one or two percent of the ticket purchasers asked for refunds, the rest held on to these tickets that they purchased in November and December 2009 for shows in June and July 2010 which then got postponed to June and July of 2011. Thats really not the definition of casual fans.

              Another thing is what about all the people who did not get a chance to see 360? Yes, there are many especially in several markets where the band only played one show. Not everyone can make the one show date you pick for a certain city.

              There was evidence that U2 was losing its grip on its audiance on POPMART in 1997 which is why they downsized on Elevation. Attendance in North America and Europe was significantly lower on POPMART than it had been on ZOO TV. The band reacted by keeping the Elevation Tour indoors.

              Why would U2 react to the amazing success of 360 by moving indoors? The band moves into arena's when they are uncertain of their ability to fill stadiums. What do you think happened on 360 which would lead the band to doubt their ability to fill stadiums? LOL

Elevation and Vertigo Arena tours filled the need adequately, no I know who wanted to go couldn't get a ticket, and some dates didn't sell out

           For Elevation North America, you could make that argument, but its debatable especially in certain markets. Elevation Europe was literally impossible for most European fans to get tickets.

           The Vertigo Tour was a stadium tour except in the United States and Canada. Every show soldout and there were massive fan complaints about tickets sales in the United States and Canada. Many fans did get locked out of shows in the United States and Canada where arena's were played on Vertigo. Fans were angry about the fan club system and the way tickets were alloted. Larry even cursed fans who were accusing the band of doing negative things.

           Here are the Vertigo Tour Boxscores from 2005-2006:

The VERTIGO TOUR 2005-2006 GROSSED $389,047,636 from the attendance of 4,619,021 at 131 soldout shows around the world!






1ST LEG of VERTIGO WORLD TOUR: NORTH AMERICA

1, 2. San Diego, California : March 28, 30, 2005 : ipayOne Center at the Sports Arena : GROSS $2,909,029 : ATTENDANCE 29,140 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

3, 4. Anaheim, California : April 1-2, 2005 : Arrowhead Pond : GROSS $3,454,198 : ATTENDANCE 33,535 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

5, 6. Los Angeles, California : April 5-6, 2005 : Staples Center : GROSS $3,673,850 : ATTENDANCE 34,527 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

7, 8. San Jose, California : April 9-10, 2005 : HP Pavillion : GROSS $3,357,098 : ATTENDANCE 36,140 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

9, 10. Glendale, Arizona : April 14-15, 2005 : Glendale Arena : GROSS $3,198,861 : ATTENDANCE 34,905 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

11, 12. Denver Colorado : April 20-21, 2005 : Pepsi Center : GROSS $3,509,741 : ATTENDANCE 36,714 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

13, 14. Seattle, Washington : April 24-25, 2005 : Key Arena : GROSS $3,105,574 : ATTENDANCE 30,251 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

15, 16. Vancouver, British Columbia : April 28-29, 2005 : General Motors Place : GROSS $3,020,466 : ATTENDANCE 37,031 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

17, 18, 19, 20. Chicago, Illinois : May 7-12, 2005 : United Center : GROSS $7,541,679 : ATTENDANCE 77,173 : SHOWS 4 : SELLOUTS 4

21, 25. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : May 14-22, 2005 : Wachovia Center : GROSS $3,767,178 : ATTENDANCE 39,273 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

22, 23. East Rutherford, New Jersey : May 17-18, 2005 : Continental Airlines Arena : GROSS $3,838,066 : ATTENDANCE 40,347 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

24. New York, New York : May 21, 2005 : Madison Square Garden : GROSS $1,907,086 : ATTENDANCE 18,415 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

26, 27, 28. Boston, Mass. : May 24, 26, 28, 2005 : FleetCenter : GROSS $5,071,565 : ATTENDANCE 51,658 : SHOWS 3 : SELLOUTS 3

1ST LEG of VERTIGO WORLD TOUR TOTALS

GROSS: $48,354,391
ATTENDANCE: 499,109
AVERAGE GROSS PER SHOW: $1,726,942.5
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE PER SHOW: 17,825
AVERAGE TICKET PRICE: $96.88
SHOWS: 28
SELLOUTS: 28



2ND LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR: EUROPE

29. Brussels, Belgium : June 10, 2005 : Koning Boudewijn Stadion : GROSS $4,864,554 : ATTENDANCE 60,499 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

30. Gelsenkirchen, Germany : June 12, 2005 : Arena AufSchalke : GROSS $4,203,947 : ATTENDANCE 59,120 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

31, 32. Manchester, England : June 14-15, 2005 : City Of Manchester Stadium : GROSS $11,119,740 : ATTENDANCE 107,671 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

33, 34. London, England : June 18-19, 2005 : Twickenham Stadium : GROSS $13,677,410 : ATTENDANCE 110,796 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

35. Glasgow, Scotland : June 21, 2005 : Hampden Park : GROSS $5,819,053 : ATTENDANCE 53,395 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

36, 37, 38. Dublin, Ireland : June 24-25, 27, 2005 : Croke Park : GROSS $21,163,695 : ATTENDANCE 246,743 : SHOWS 3 : SELLOUTS 3

39. Cardiff, Wales : June 29, 2005 : Millennium Stadium : GROSS $6,406,073 : ATTENDANCE 63,677 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

40. Vienna, Austria : July 2, 2005 : Ernst Happel Stadion : GROSS $4,200,416 : ATTENDANCE 55,645 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

41. Chorzow, Poland : July 5, 2005 : Stadion Slaski : GROSS $3,127,416 : ATTENDANCE 64,711 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

42. Berlin, Germany : July 7, 2005 : Olympiastadion : GROSS $4,725,530 : ATTENDANCE 70,443 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

43, 44. Paris, France : July 9-10, 2005 : Stade De France : GROSS $11,822,645 : ATTENDANCE 160,349 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

45, 46, 47. Amsterdam, The Netherlands : July 13, 15-16, 2005 : Amsterdam Arena : GROSS $13,022,200 : ATTENDANCE 165,516 : SHOWS 3 : SELLOUTS 3

48. Zurich, Switzerland : July 18, 2005 : Stadion Letzigrund : GROSS $3,574,993 : ATTENDANCE 44,260 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

49, 50. Milan, Italy : July 20-21, 2005 : Stadio San Siro : GROSS $7,565,264 : ATTENDANCE 137,427 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

51. Rome, Italy : July 23, 2005 : Stadio Olimpico : GROSS $4,010,779 : ATTENDANCE 67,002 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

52. Oslo, Norway : July 27, 2005 : Valle Hovin : GROSS $3,765,136 : ATTENDANCE 40,000 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

53. Goteborg, Sweden : July 29, 2005 : Ullevi Stadion : GROSS $4,081,864 : ATTENDANCE 58,478 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

54. Copenhagen, Denmark : July 31, 2005 : Parken Stadion : GROSS $3,650,294 : ATTENDANCE 50,000 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

55. Munich, Germany : August 3, 2005 : Olympiastadion : GROSS $5,343,379 : ATTENDANCE 77,435 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

56. Nice, France : August 5, 2005 : Parc des Sports Charles-Ehrmann : GROSS $3,548,702 : ATTENDANCE 51,900 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

57. Barcelona, Spain : August 7, 2005 : Camp Nou : GROSS $5,130,437 : ATTENDANCE 81,269 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

58. San Sebastian, Spain : August 9, 2005 : Estadio de Anoeta : GROSS $2,936,571 : ATTENDANCE 43,720 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

59. Madrid, Spain : August 11, 2005 : Estadio Vicente Calderon : GROSS $3,679,354 : ATTENDANCE 57,040 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

60. Lisbon, Portugal : August 14, 2005 : Estadio Jose Alvalade : GROSS $4,492,762 : ATTENDANCE 55,362 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1





2ND LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR TOTALS

GROSS: $155,932,214
ATTENDANCE: 1,982,458
AVERAGE GROSS PER SHOW: $4,872,882
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE PER SHOW: 61,952
AVERAGE TICKET PRICE: $78.66
SHOWS: 32
SELLOUTS: 32







3RD LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR: NORTH AMERICA


61, 62, 63, 64. Toronto, Ontario : Sept. 12, 14, 16-17, 2005 : Air Canada Centre : GROSS $7,624,870 : ATTENDANCE 82,572 : SHOWS 4 : SELLOUTS 4

65, 66. Chicago, Illinois : Sept. 20-21, 2005 : United Center : GROSS $3,795,583 : ATTENDANCE 38,815 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

67. Minneapolis, Minn. : Sept. 23, 2005 : Target Center : GROSS $1,823,883 : ATTENDANCE 19,328 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

68. Milwaukee, Wis. : Sept. 25, 2005 : Bradley Center : GROSS $1,782,895 : ATTENDANCE 19,336 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

69, 70. Boston, Mass. : October 3-4, 2005 : TD Banknorth Garden : GROSS $3,381,429 : ATTENDANCE 34,488 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

71, 72, 73, 74, 75. New York, N.Y. : Oct. 7-8, 10-11, 14, 2005 : Madison Square Garden : GROSS $9,658,009 : ATTENDANCE 93,275 : SHOWS 5 : SELLOUTS 5

76, 77. Philadelphia, PA : Oct. 16-17, 2005 : Wachovia Center : GROSS $3,773,053 : ATTENDANCE 39,305 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

78, 79. Washington, D.C. : Oct. 19-20, 2005 : MCI Center : GROSS $3,902,569 : ATTENDANCE 38,181 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

80. Pittsburgh, PA : Oct. 22, 2005 : Melon Arena : GROSS $1,636,798 : ATTENDANCE 16,899 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

81, 82. Auburn Hills, Mich. : Oct. 24-25, 2005 : Palace of Auburn Hills : GROSS $3,951,103 : ATTENDANCE 41,379 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

83. Houston, TX : Oct. 28, 2005 : Toyota Center : GROSS $1,652,699 : ATTENDANCE 17,002 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

84. Dallas, TX : Oct. 29, 2005 : American Airlines Center : GROSS $1,689,471 : ATTENDANCE 17,988 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

85, 86. Los Angeles, Calif. : Nov. 1-2, 2005 : Staples Center : GROSS $3,656,978 : ATTENDANCE 34,291 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

87, 88. Las Vegas, Nev. : Nov. 4-5, 2005 : MGM Grand Garden : GROSS $3,864,843 : ATTENDANCE 31,863 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

89, 90. Oakland, Calif. : Nov. 8-9, 2005 : Oakland Arena : GROSS $3,638,620 : ATTENDANCE 36,340 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

91, 92. Miami, Fla. : Nov. 13-14, 2005 : American Airlines Arena : GROSS $3,589,942 : ATTENDANCE 37,354 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

93. Tampa, Fla. : Nov. 16, 2005 : St. Pete Times Forum : GROSS $1,825,243 : ATTENDANCE 19,354 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

94, 95. Atlanta, Ga. : Nov. 18-19, 2005 : Philips Arena : GROSS $3,500,572 : ATTENDANCE 36,334 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

96, 97. New York, N.Y. : Nov. 21-22, 2005 : Madison Square Garden : GROSS $3,859,828 : ATTENDANCE 37,314 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

98. Ottawa : Nov. 25, 2005 : Corel Centre : GROSS $1,486,710 : ATTENDANCE 18,647 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

99, 100. Montreal, Quebec : Nov. 26, 28, 2005 : Bell Centre : GROSS $3,575,491 : ATTENDANCE 43,294 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

101, 102. Boston, Mass. : Dec. 4-5, 2005 : TD Banknorth Garden : GROSS $3,400,861 : ATTENDANCE 34,583 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

103. Hartford, Conn. : Dec. 7, 2005 : Hartford Civic Center : GROSS $1,542,471 : ATTENDANCE 16,165 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

104. Buffalo, N.Y. : Dec. 9, 2005 : HSBC Arena : GROSS $1,711,094 : ATTENDANCE 18,826 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

105. Cleveland, Ohio : Dec. 10, 2005 : Quicken Loans Arena : GROSS $1,791,497 : ATTENDANCE 19,765 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

106. Charlotte, N.C. : Dec. 12, 2005 : Charlotte Bobcats Arena : GROSS $1,672,440 : ATTENDANCE 17,804 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

107. St. Louis, Mo. : Dec. 14, 2005 : Savvis Center : GROSS $1,839,020 : ATTENDANCE 19,923 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

108. Omaha, Nebraska : Dec. 15, 2005 : Qwest Center : GROSS $1,500,834 : ATTENDANCE 16,134 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

109. Salt Lake City, Utah : Dec. 17, 2005 : Delta Center : GROSS $1,709,317 : ATTENDANCE 18,197 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

110. Portland, Ore. : Dec. 19, 2005 : Rose Garden : GROSS $1,670,879 : ATTENDANCE 18,233 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1






3RD LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR TOTALS TO DATE

GROSS: $90,509,002
ATTENDANCE: 936,975
AVERAGE GROSS PER SHOW: $1,810,180
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE PER SHOW: 18,740
AVERAGE TICKET PRICE: $97.01
SHOWS: 50
SELLOUTS: 50






4TH LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR: MEXICO, BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, CHILE


111. Monterrey, Mexico : February 12, 2006 : Estadio Tecnologico : GROSS $4,504,026 : ATTENDANCE 50,347 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

112, 113. Mexico City, Mexico : February 15-16, 2006 : Estadio Azteca : GROSS $10,257,284 : ATTENDANCE 141,278 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

114, 115. Sao Paulo, Brazil : February 20-21, 2006 : Estadio do Morumbi : GROSS $11,682,557 : ATTENDANCE 149,700 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

116. Santiago, Chile : February 26, 2006 : Estadio Nacional : GROSS $5,000,589 : ATTENDANCE 77,345 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

117, 118. Buenos Aires, Argentina : March 1-2, 2006 : River Plate Stadium : GROSS $6,966,821 : ATTENDANCE 150,424 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2





4TH LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR TOTALS TO DATE

GROSS: $38,411,277
ATTENDANCE: 569,094
AVERAGE GROSS PER SHOW: $4,801,409
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE PER SHOW: 71,137
AVERAGE TICKET PRICE: $67.50
SHOWS: 8
SELLOUTS: 8










5TH LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR: AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN, HAWAII


119. Brisbane, Australia : November 7, 2006 : QSAC Stadium : GROSS $4,254,140 : ATTENDANCE 50,094 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

120, 121, 122. Sydney, Australia : November 10-11, 13, 2006 : Telstra Stadium : GROSS $18,538,724 : ATTENDANCE 206,568 : SHOWS 3 : SELLOUTS 3

123. Adelaide, Australia : November 16, 2006 : AAMI Stadium : GROSS $5,058,962 : ATTENDANCE 60,000 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1

124, 125. Melbourne, Australia : November 18-19, 2006 : Telstra Dome : GROSS $11,188,720 : ATTENDANCE 127,275 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

126, 127. Auckland, New Zealand : November 24-25, 2006 : Ericsson Stadium : GROSS $6,216,819 : ATTENDANCE 84,475 : SHOWS 2 : SELLOUTS 2

128, 129, 130. Saitama, Japan : November 29-30, December 4, 2006 : Saitama Super Arena : GROSS $6,096,855 : ATTENDANCE 57,158 : SHOWS 3 : SELLOUTS 3

131. Honolulu, Hawaii : December 9, 2006 : Aloha Stadium : GROSS $4,486,532 : ATTENDANCE 45,815 : SHOWS 1 : SELLOUTS 1






5TH LEG OF VERTIGO WORLD TOUR TOTALS TO DATE


GROSS: $55,840,752
ATTENDANCE: 631,385
AVERAGE GROSS PER SHOW: $4,295,442
AVERAGE ATTENDANCE PER SHOW: 48,568
AVERAGE TICKET PRICE: $88.44
SHOWS: 13
SELLOUTS: 13












Combined 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th LEG VERTIGO TOUR TOTALS TO DATE

GROSS: $389,047,636
ATTENDANCE: 4,619,021
SHOWS: 131
SELLOUTS: 131

[bono2012]

Where would they play ? Elevation programme would be a good start, with - of course - avoiding underplaying Europe and actually having 2 europe legs like Zoo TV/360, and visiting Australia/N. Zealand and S. America. They never really did a world tour in arenas.

              The problem is that there is obviously a limit to how long the band would remain on tour. A global arena tour means that the number of shows, say even 150 at most, gets spread out all over the world, leading to the underplaying issue nearly everywhere. The maximum number of shows, 150, gets spread over more cities around the globe, as opposed to if they just toured in say North America for the whole tour, more shows for each city played.

Underplaying is less of an issue than overplaying.

So, arena/stadium mix with about 120-130 shows.

              Not when your the most popular live artist on the planet and typically do not like to be on the road for more than  120 or so dates.   The limits in regards to the bands time and number of shows + the massive demand to see the band make underplaying more of an issue than overplaying. I mean think about it, how many tours has U2 really overplayed? The only one you could argue would be POPMART and then only for certain markets. You don't see overplaying until you see weak attendance at shows and shows CANCELLED do to low advance ticket sales.

             An arena/stadium mix is at least far more realistic than playing all arena's. Perhaps a 60 stadium / 30 arena show tour of North America and Europe would work.

[markreed]

Stadiums might "Suck", but you know what sucks a LOT more?

Knowing your favourite band is playing in your town tonight, and knowing you can't get in.

[JTBaby]

Stadiums might "Suck", but you know what sucks a LOT more?

Knowing your favourite band is playing in your town tonight, and knowing you can't get in.

Then you're an idiot for letting that happen to you.

I don't know one person who wanted to go to Elevation or Vertigo who couldn't get a ticket.

I also know quite  a few people who went to the rose Bowl show who were either given a free ticket or were going for the curiosity factor because it was so easy to get a ticket.

I KNOW there's a lot of casual fans even at the stadium and even at the arena shows. How ? The mass exodus for bathrooms/beer during An Cat Dubh/Your Blue room/Any non-hit-underplayed-deep-cut. Anecdotal for sure, but real nonetheless.

[bono2012]

Stadiums might "Suck", but you know what sucks a LOT more?

Knowing your favourite band is playing in your town tonight, and knowing you can't get in.

Then you're an idiot for letting that happen to you.

I don't know one person who wanted to go to Elevation or Vertigo who couldn't get a ticket.

I also know quite  a few people who went to the rose Bowl show who were either given a free ticket or were going for the curiosity factor because it was so easy to get a ticket.

I KNOW there's a lot of casual fans even at the stadium and even at the arena shows. How ? The mass exodus for bathrooms/beer during An Cat Dubh/Your Blue room/Any non-hit-underplayed-deep-cut. Anecdotal for sure, but real nonetheless.

           I assume you understand basic math correct? An Arena has finite number of seats and floor space available, enough for about on average 18,500 people. The average 360 stadium show had 66,100 people. Obviously, when demand is that large, 18,500 is simply not going to satisfy it.  The Rose Bowl by the way soldout within 6 hours. Yes, tickets would be available through scalpers and resellers after that and there were a few tickets later released after the initial on sale date and sellout. But over 90% of the tickets sold to the show were sold during the first 6 hours, and after that point tickets could only be purchased during random ticket drops.

            The people you know and your friends is not a large enough sample to declare that everyone can get a ticket. Demand levels on Elevation were lower from what they were on Vertigo and 360. I got shut out of the first Philadelphia VERTIGO show as that show soldout before tickets went on sell to the public due to large fan club purchases McGuinness choosing to allow ticket sales to continue despite the fact there would be no tickets available at the public on sale. Of course, a second show was added within 30 minutes, but by then you already have a certain number of people who had given up because of no tickets being available for the first show.

             The fact is, when you restrict the supply of tickets by playing certain venues, you make it more difficult for the fans. Why do you think U2 has not played theaters since the WAR tour? Its the same principle here.

            Oh, which song would you go to the bathroom for if you really had to go? Should we make a determination of what type of a fan you are based on the answer to that question? Lots of people relax and drink beer which naturally leads people to head for the bathroom eventually. The people who starve and dehydrate themselves so they can have their spot on the rail next to the stage, without ever leaving for the bathroom, are a tiny, tiny minority. Believe it or not, hardcore fans do go to the bathroom during the show.