GARTH TICKETS SNAPPED UP
Record-setting sales for Sask. shows
Garth Brooks fans proved Friday their devotion hasn’t faltered in the 20 years since his last visit to Saskatoon.
The country legend broke the ticket sales record for Saskatchewan, bettering the Rolling Stones’ 2006 record of 80,127 tickets sold for two shows in Regina.
As of noon Friday, two hours after tickets for six shows at SaskTel Centre went on sale, Brooks had sold more than 86,000 tickets. If all six shows sell out, the total will reach more than 90,000.
Brooks’ initial June 11 concert at SaskTel Centre became two, then four, then six shows within 30 minutes of tickets going on sale. The country legend will play two shows June 10 and two June 11, and a single show each June 9 and 12.
Scott Ford, executive director of SaskTel Centre, said he knew there was a possibility for additional shows, but didn’t know until tickets started selling how many the venue would get.
“This a phenomenon all by itself,” he said Friday. “It’s very exciting for us to get six shows.”
Ford said Brooks’ staff has a system of tracking demand. Demand for the first show was huge and that trend continued as organizers added more.
Ford said fans have been waiting for an opportunity to see the country musician live.
“Garth is massive, he always has been,” he said. “He’s a phenomenal artist. The fans love him. He has great prices and really thinks about the fans.”
With the two shows scheduled June 10 and 11, Ford said the venue will have a plan in place to make entering and leaving the parking lot as smooth as possible. For the last two Rush lacrosse games, which attracted about 15,000 people each, the lot was cleared in about 40 minutes.
According to Brooks’ public relations firm, it took just 16 minutes for Brooks to break the previous record he set at SaskTel Centre (then Saskatchewan Place). He sold 28,144 tickets for two shows in August 1996. He also set a venue record for Saskatchewan Place with 14,605 tickets sold for the Aug. 14 show.
Brooks is known for setting records with ticket sales, often playing multiple sold-out shows in one market. He will also play six shows apiece in Las Vegas, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Des Moines, Iowa. The tour also includes four shows in Fargo, N.D. The shows are part of Brooks’ first world tour in two decades.
“I imagine it’s been in the works for a week or two,” associate professor David Williams of the Edwards School of Business said of the added shows.
“Scarcity always works — or the illusion of scarcity.”
Brooks’ special guest on tour is Trisha Yearwood, a fellow country musician and his wife.
Tickets for all six shows were still available as of Friday afternoon. All tickets are priced at $79.98, including service fees. They are available at ticketmaster.ca or by calling 306-938-7800.
Brooks announced his retirement in 2001, but in 2009 played 180 shows as part of a Las Vegas residency at Steve Wynn’s Encore Theater. In 2014, Brooks released his first new album in 13 years, Man Against Machine. He is known for such songs as Friends in Low Places, Two Pina Coladas and The Thunder Rolls.
The only other musical act to come close to Brooks’ record for SaskTel Centre was The Eagles, who played three consecutive shows in Saskatoon in 2009, attracting about 35,000 people.