Resilient Madison Square Garden (MSG) displayed its staying power this week, once again taking the number one spot in TicketNews’s exclusive venues rankings for the week ending Sunday, October 11. Dominating the rankings for four of the past five weeks, MSG gets a boost to its numbers with the star power of its teams, the New York Rangers and New York Knicks, as the NHL season begins and the NBA is in preseason play. The venue also just hosted supergroup KISS on October 10 (at number five in this week’s Top Concert Events rankings) and will see a two date appearance in early November from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (number three in Top Concerts). MSG power scored an impressive 3.82 this week.

As AL East Champs the New York Yankees began ALDS play last week against the Minnesota Twins (a series which took the Yankees to number one in this week’s Top Sports Events), the new Yankee Stadium made a big move in the venues rankings, up six from last week to take number two spot and power scoring a 2.99. The Yankees won their series 3-0 on Sunday, and they meet the Los Angeles Angels on October 16 for the start of the ALCS.

The Gershwin Theatre in New York City remained strong this week, dropping just one to the number three position. The Gershwin’s numbers are helped, as always, by continued robust sales for its blockbuster musical Wicked. The Gershwin power scored a 2.90 this week.

With plenty of recent playoff activity at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN, the venue has been a repeat top ten finisher for three weeks running. Falling just one this week to number four and power scoring a 2.86, the Metrodome has had much to offer fans over these past weeks. On Monday, October 5, fans of the Minnesota Vikings (ranked fifth in Top Sports this week), Green Bay Packers (ranked eighth) and Brett Favre saw Favre take on his old team on the Vikings home turf. AL Central leaders the Minnesota Twins, just finished an ALDS (with ticket sales taking them to number four in Top Sports this week) against the New York Yankees. The Metrodome hosted game three on Sunday, when the Yankees completed their sweep of the series.

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With the NFL season underway and its final musical acts having appeared, Giants Stadium in Rutherford, NJ, prepares for its final few months as home to the New York Giants (at number two in this week’s Top Sports) and New York Jets before closing its gates at the end of the 2009 NFL season. The Stadium power scored a 2.50 this week.

Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, TX dropped out of the top five for the first time in 11 weeks, taking the number six spot and power scoring a 1.53. The home to the legendary Dallas Cowboys, at number six in this week’s Top Sports Events rankings, is also scheduled to host a December 19 game between fan favorites the Texas Longhorns (at number three in Top Sports this week) and the North Carolina Tar Heels. The venue also is home to the historic Cotton Bowl, to be played on January 2, 2010.

The Virginia/August Wilson Theatre in New York City remained strong in the top ten, holding at number seven for two weeks running and power scoring a 1.45 this week. The theater’s numbers remain solid due to continued strong ticket sales for its long-running hit musical, Jersey Boys. At number eight and power scoring a 1.32 this week was the Imperial Theatre, Broadway’s home to this year’s popular Tony Award winning musical, Billy Elliot.

Next, the Wachovia Center appeared in the top ten this week for the first time since April, finishing at number nine and power scoring a 1.29. The Wachovia is home to both the Philadelphia Flyers (in seasonal play) and 76ers (in preseason play) as well as host to a number of top selling musical artists in the coming months. Performers slated to appear at the Center include AC/DC (at number eight in this week’s Top Concerts) on October 21, restarting its fall tour following lead singer Brian Johnson’s recent medical procedure, and Jay Z (at number ten) on October 23, Miley Cyrus (at number six) and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (at number four) in November, and the start of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (at number two) in early December.

The flagship venue for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, none other than Radio City Music Hall, made its seasonal debut in the top ten this week, coming in at number ten and power scoring a 1.25. The Spectacular begins performances on November 13 and runs through December 30.

The new Yankee stadium hangs tough this week, still the sole baseball venue in the top ten. Football venues make a fair showing, totaling three this week. Three Broadway theaters also make it to the list, with Radio City, MSG and the Wachovia Center boosting the totals for performance venues this week.

TicketNews Exclusive Rankings and Power Scores are based on ticket sales for venues from the TicketNetwork Exchange™, the world’s largest secondary market exchange. A Power Score illustrates a given venue’s category-specific significance. Two factors are used to calculate a power score: total ticket sales for a venue, and total ticket sales within the category. As such, power scores should only be used to compare venues within a particular category.

Top Venues

Week Ending 10/11/2009

      Venue Score
1 Madison Square Garden Tickets 3.82
2 New Yankee Stadium Tickets 2.99
3 Gershwin Theatre Tickets 2.90
4 Metrodome Tickets 2.86
5 Giants Stadium Tickets 2.50
6 Dallas Cowboys Stadium Tickets 1.52
7 Virginia/August Wilson Theatre – NY Tickets 1.45
8 Imperial Theatre – NY Tickets 1.32
9 Wachovia Center Tickets 1.29
10 Radio City Music Hall Tickets 1.25
11 Staples Center Tickets 1.24
12 Orpheum Theatre – San Francisco Tickets 1.21
13 LandShark Stadium (Formerly Dolphin Stadium) Tickets 1.18
14 Heinz Field Tickets 1.15
15 Lambeau Field Tickets 1.09
16 Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (formerly Plymouth Theatre) Tickets 1.09
17 TD Garden (Fleet Center) Tickets 1.01
18 Caesars Palace – Colosseum Tickets 1.00
19 Cotton Bowl Stadium Tickets 1.00
20 Lincoln Financial Field Tickets 0.99