Two weeks ago on April 13, 2012, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band thrilled Chicago area fans by announcing their Wrecking Ball Tour added a performance on September 7 at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. The demand for tickets was overwhelming — tickets went on sale Saturday, April 21, at 10 a.m. and sold out an hour later.
If you weren’t able to secure tickets for that show, mark your calendar for May 5 at 10 a.m. In response to the demand for tickets, Springsteen and the E Street band added another Wrigley Field performance for the following night, September 8.
Wrigley Field isn’t the only sporting venue that “The Boss” will be making stops at during this tour, running now through late September. The Wrecking Ball Tour has scheduled pit stops in stadiums across Europe as well as Gillette Stadium, Citizens Bank Park, Nationals Park, and MetLife Stadium, where the tour will conclude with a three night performance.
While stadiums may not be the typical venue for a concert, the idea is not unheard of. On August 15 of 1965, The Beatles played at Shea Stadium in New York as a part of their “Beatlemania” tour.
“The success of the Beatles concerts made Shea an extremely attractive venue to rock-n-roll groups,” according the official New York Mets website. Indeed it did, as other big names such as Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix followed suit and played at Shea in 1970 and Simon and Garfunkel played in 1983.
Although it doesn’t seem like the most likely of relationships, concerts in sporting arenas are some of the hottest tickets during the summer concert season. Fans flock to these iconic locations to see their favorite artists in a one-of-a-kind performance.
Yankee Stadium will be hosting two summer concerts this year — Roger Waters for two nights in July, and the “Material Girl,” Madonna, who has two nights scheduled for early September.
Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, is another very popular stadium for concerts. “Fenway does terrific with concerts,” explained Jim Holzman, CEO of Ace Ticket of Massachusetts, “They try to have one big concert per year.” From artists such as Bruce Springsteen to the Rolling Stones to Jimmy Buffett, Fenway has had its share of famous performances, according to Holzman. Roger Waters, who was once part of the group “Pink Floyd,” will be performing at Fenway on July 1.
Wherever you are this summer, the next time you are looking for a concert, consider seeing one at a ball park.
