Garth Brooks Won’t Raise Ticket Prices on His Upcoming Stadium Tour Dates
Garth Brooks has revealed that he will not raise ticket prices during the upcoming 2021 dates of his Stadium Tour, no matter what extra costs he might have to bear due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the additional health protocols touring will now require.
As most artists are returning to touring incrementally, beginning with smaller venues or setting capacity limits, Brooks is making bold moves. Beginning in July, he will be playing stadiums across the country at 100 percent capacity with an even higher frequency than he did pre-pandemic.
"Anybody that was dealing with us knew we were doing 100 percent capacity," Brooks says in an interview with Billboard. The sold-out arenas won't be the only thing fans can count on to be in line with pre-pandmic Brooks tours. Those soaring ticket prices the public has been worried about? Brooks says that won't be the case.
He's is well aware that the new safety measures that are becoming commonplace come at a cost.
"That’s a lot of stadium expenses: The sanitization of everything, the addition of masks, the addition of hand sanitization stations," says Brooks. But he is not passing that cost along to concertgoers. "My thing is if we make 100 percent of each ticket — and because of the COVID regulations and restrictions that we have to put in and pay for, we make 95 percent — I’m more than OK with that."
Brooks is willing to take the hit on profit if it means giving fans an experience they'll enjoy at the price point they were expecting. True to his reputation as a stand-up guy, he is even willing to take some of the burden off of the venues.
"We go to the stadium and go, 'Okay, show us your expenses there and let’s share in them because you shouldn’t be taking them all on.'"
The Garth Brooks Stadium tour kicks off July 10 with a sold-out Las Vegas show. Other announced dates include Salt Lake City, Utah (July 17); Cheyenne, Wyo. (July 23); Kansas City, Mo. (Aug. 7); Lincoln, Neb. (Aug. 14); Cincinnati, Ohio (Sept. 18); and Charlotte, N.C. (Sept. 25).