Orchard Park, N.Y. (WBEN) - Country music superstar Garth Brooks announced back on May 11 that his Stadium Tour is coming to Western New York on Saturday, July 23. It is the first time Brooks will come to Buffalo in seven years.
The concert will be held this year at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, marking the first time Brooks has ever played at the home of the Buffalo Bills.
Tickets were originally scheduled to go on sale back on Friday, May 20, but Brooks decided to postpone ticket sales out of respect for the deadly mass shooting at the Tops Friendly Market on Jefferson Avenue on May 14.
"At some point, the healing in Buffalo will begin and the city will sing again. But for now, we pause out of respect for what the great community of Buffalo is going through," Brooks said in a statement. "We stand beside all of those who are hurting and confused by such an unthinkable act."
More than a month later, Brooks is ready to open up ticket sales starting on Friday at 10 a.m. ET.
The concert will be in-the-round seating with an eight-ticket limit per-purchase. Tickets will be priced at $98.95.
"It's very rare to have someone that can sell all those seats in a stadium tour, but Garth Brooks is one of those performers that people are drawn to, and he's an entertainer," said Nick Giammusso, President and CEO of VIPTIX.com "If you've never seen him, he's just a great, great show. If you're not a country fan, you become a country fan after you see Garth Brooks."
This concert, for many, will finally be a return to normalcy with more and more acts starting to tour the country and the world once again following the COVID-19 pandemic. Giammusso says it's been a bit slow to start, but people are getting back out and heading to see some of their favorite acts again, including Brooks.
"Anytime you have a big act, an act like Garth Brooks, people are just excited to get out and get back into the swing of things, especially for a stadium show," he said. "We've had U2 here, I think before the pandemic, that sold really, really well. Billy Joel sold really, really well, it was another stadium tour, but Garth's a little bit different."
"His draw and demand is so great, especially when you consider our markets. We've got Southern Ontario pretty close to us, just a short drive, and Southern Ontario is just a huge, huge market. When you compare the region, he could sell a lot of tickets."
Brooks has been a staple of country music for several years, and for this particular event in Western New York, there will be a lot more seats to sell being at the 72,000-seat Highmark Stadium. With how unique and popular he's been over the years, Giammusso believes that he can sell out Highmark Stadium quite fast, and maybe even then some.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he even adds a second show," Giammusso admitted. "We've seen a lot of cities go on sale with a Saturday show, and the demand is so strong that they will add a Friday night. He's in Charlotte the weekend before he comes to Buffalo, and that's what they did in Charlotte. They actually put the Saturday show on sale, and then they added a second show. They did the same thing in Edmonton, and they did the same thing the weekend before in Salt Lake City."
Giammusso understands the popularity of Brooks in Buffalo, and what a great showing his concerts have been in years past. When Giammusso was the box office manager at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium back in 1994, he can recall how well tickets sold for Brooks' concerts.
"He ended up doing five concerts in 1994 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium, and sold out completely. Just a great, great show," Giammusso recalled.
"In talking to Garth at the time, in 1994, all of his tickets were $20. What that made people do is, there were people that ordered multiple [tickets]. I think they sold all five shows at $20. I mean, it was ridiculous. At the time, I think an average ticket was maybe $90 for a concert in those days, back in the early '90s. But in in talking to him and his business people, he wanted to get as many people to see him live as he possibly could."
Giammusso is fond of how different of a mentality Brooks has compared to other artists in the music industry. It extends from how he promotes himself, to the cost of concert tickets, and even as much as the success of merchandise sales.
"He's a great business guy, and he's got great people that help him on the business side," Giammusso explained. "His idea is, let's get as many people to see our show at great, great prices, so probably see him every single time he plays. And again, at $100 for his show, he could probably sell it out at $200-$300. I mean, that's the demand that we're talking.
"I think Garth Brooks is probably one of the No. 1 selling [artists for] t-shirts and all kinds of merchandise. That was his goal in the '90s was to sell tickets [at a] great price, and then the merchandise sales were off the charts."
When tickets officially go on sale on Friday, there are three ways people can purchase tickets:
1.) www.ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks
2.) The Garth Brooks Line at Ticketmaster: 1-(877)-654-2784
3.) The Ticketmaster app on your mobile device