Country concerts set for summer
Five country concerts are the first shows announced for the 2008 season at Verizon Wireless Music Center.
Tim McGraw will perform May 23 at the Noblesville amphitheater, Brad Paisley on June 26, Brooks & Dunn on July 20, Toby Keith on Aug. 2 and Rascal Flatts on a date yet to be announced.
Beginning Jan. 22, concert promoter Live Nation will sell "megatickets" that package all five events.
The top-tier "gold" package reserves a lower-pavilion seat for the concerts, as well as premium parking with every two gold packages that are purchased.
The "silver" package reserves an upper-pavilion seat for the concerts.
The "lawn" package includes lawn seating for the concerts.
Pricing for the megaticket packages will be announced next week.
The packages will be available through online purchase at www.livenation.com.
Verizon Wireless Music Center, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Concerts, Country
What ever happened to the whole issue of Deer Creek, I mean Verizon Wirless Music Center, closing?
The way I understand it is that noone bought it yet. I'm not even for sure if its still for sale. Guess it will still be open for a 2008 season though...and last year the parking situation didn't seem as bad as years past...but the getting there was made more difficult by surrounding construction. FINS UP PARROTHEADS!
David Lindquist : RE: Country concerts set for summer More..
From an IndyStar.com blog entry I posted Aug. 16:
"Wednesday was a good day for fans of live music, as word arrived that Verizon Wireless Music Center won't be sold in the foreseeable future.
Instead of making way for more commercial development in Noblesville near Exit 10 of I-69, the 24,000-capacity amphitheater will present a 20th summer of concerts in 2008 -- with that schedule announcement expected in April.
As a survivor in Live Nation's mini-purge of "shed" venues, Verizon now appears to be a must stop for summer tours hoping to attract 15,000 or more paying customers.
Live Nation -- which bills itself as "the world's largest live music company" -- sold Starwood Amphitheater near Nashville, Tenn., this year and the company won't renew its management contract with Verizon Wireless Amphitheater near Kansas City.
Other sites presently sporting "for sale" signs include First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (previously known as the World Music Theatre, New World Music Theatre and Tweeter Center) near Chicago; Germain Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio; Verizon Wireless Amphitheater near San Antonio, Texas; and Sleep Train Amphitheatre near Sacramento, Calif.
The reason Live Nation is looking to move these properties is the same from the Midwest to the West Coast: the facilities were built on land that may be more valuable now as neighborhoods, office parks or retail shopping centers.
In the case of Verizon Wireless Music Center, the reported asking price of $200,000 per acre apparently was too steep -- for now.
The size of the pie may be another contributing factor. Verizon is nestled on a massive plot of 203 acres. Tennessee's Starwood was a 17,000-capacity venue on 65 acres. Ohio's Germain accommodates 20,000 patrons on 83 acres. The math for California's Sleep Train is 18,500 ticketholders on 90 acres. For Texas' Verizon, the corresponding numbers are 20,000 and 109.
If its sprawling footprint is saving the venue once known as Deer Creek, chalk it up to jam-band karma. Fans of the Grateful Dead, Phish and the Dave Matthews Band consider the joint to be paradise thanks to wide-open greenspaces and a pond or two.
Some industry observers say people no longer enjoy the shed experience, but Verizon drew surprisingly huge crowds for Gwen Stefani and Def Leppard this summer. Usual suspects Kenny Chesney and Jimmy Buffett sold every available ticket. The Warped Tour played to its biggest-ever Indiana crowd (more than 15,000), and the venue distributed 24,000 free tickets for Ozzfest -- even if everybody didn't show up.
After years of experimenting with tiered ticket pricing, Live Nation seems to have found the right formula at Verizon. A lawn ticket sold for $20 can generate additional revenue in food, drink and souvenirs -- and it's obviously better than a $35 lawn ticket that nobody buys.
Sooner or later, the topic of selling Verizon Wireless Music Center is certain to resurface. But now there's a chance John Mellencamp, for instance, will play one more show at the amphitheater that opened in 1989 -- and surely exists partly because of revenue he generated for Sunshine Promotions during his big '80s."
Thanks for reposting that article! Since I currently live out of town, I never got a chance to see that one. Being from Noblesville, I definately will shed a tear when/if Deer Creek ever closes down
oskeewowow : RE: Country concerts set for summer More..
Pretty lame lineup of country acts coming in 2008. How about bringing in some up and coming acts and not the same old retreads?
Well because the up and coming acts aren't go to sell out a place the size of verizon...you'll have to catch them at the fair...or opening for the bigger names. Brad Paisley,Toby Keith,etc usually have great new talent for their opening acts. I wish I lived closer to verizon and I'd probably attend more shows there....even though it is way overpriced..
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