Oakland Arena posts best concert season ever in 2022
Venue rebounds from pandemic with big concerts
“We are excited to continue this momentum into 2023, welcome more guests and make fans out of everyone that walks through our doors.” — Nicole Strange, Oakland Arena general manager
Oakland Arena posted its most successful concert year ever in 2022, arena managers announced Thursday.
The longtime East Bay venue, which opened in 1966, hosted more than 65 events that drew over a half million people last year, according to a news release.
The figures show that the venue has bounced back from the COVID-19 shutdown of live entertainment venues that began in 2020. They also serve as a rebuttal to those who have questioned whether the Oakland Arena could survive and even thrive after the Golden State Warriors moved to Chase Center in San Francisco at the start of the 201920 season.
Fans certainly flocked to the venue in 2022, resulting in the arena posting its highest-grossing year of concerts and non-sports-related live shows in its 55-year-plus history.
The 500,000-plus fans who visited the arena for concerts and other nonsports-related live shows accounted for a 12 percent increase in ticket sales in comparison to 2019, which was the last fully operating year for venues before the pandemic derailed the worldwide concert industry.
The Oakland Arena landed at No. 30 in Pollstar's annual worldwide arena ranking list, which was topped by New York's Madison Square Garden and also included Southern California's Kia Forum in second place.
Highlights for the ASM Global-managed venue in 2022 included performances from Pearl Jam, Kendrick Lamar, Daddy Yankee and Paul McCartney, whose delivered the arena's largestgrossing show in history.
Also, the neighboring RingCentral Coliseum — home of the Oakland A's — hosted its highest-ever grossing event when Bad Bunny performed a sold-out show in front of 40,000 fans over the venue.
“We are truly proud of the success we experienced in 2022 at Oakland Arena and RingCentral Coliseum,” says general manager Nicole Strange. “We are excited to continue this momentum into 2023, welcome more guests and make fans out of everyone that walks through our doors.”
Upcoming shows at the Oakland Arena include Los Angeles Azules on March 11, The Entertainers Tour on March 12, SZA on March 14, Mana on March 18, Future and Friends on April 1, Burna Boy on April 8, New Edition on April 9 and Muse on April 14.