Garth Brooks performs at Sasktel Centre on Thursday, June 9th, 2016, one of many shows he played in the city during that tour.
Liam Richards / Saskatoon StarPhoenix
In one hour, Garth Brooks sold out tickets to what is currently his only Canadian stop on his stadium tour. Now, unlucky fans wait and hope.
They have at least one good reason to be optimistic: Brooks has a history of adding concerts after fast sellouts, like his notable six sold-out shows over four days at Saskatoon’s SaskTel Centre in June 2016.
While concerts on the Brooks’ North American Stadium Tour have been one night only so far, the number of tickets sold at those venues ranged from 70,000 to 80,000. The seating capacity of Mosaic Stadium is 33,000, but it can be expanded to 40,000.
Looking forward, two shows have been scheduled for June 19 and 20 in Boise, Idaho, at the Albertsons Stadium, which has a capacity of little more than 36,000. According to the Idaho Statesman, the state’s governor called Brooks to make a case for another concert after the first one sold out. The additional show was announced less than 24 hours later.
When Regina’s Aug. 10 show was first announced, Mosaic Stadium was reserved on Friday and Sunday for stage set-up and take-down. At the time, there was no indication of anything more than a single date in Regina, but Regina Exhibition Association Limited CEO Tim Reid said REAL would be be open to more dates if the opportunity presented itself.
“In terms of making it an even better entertainment weekend in the City of Regina that would only be enhanced,” he said.
As of Friday afternoon, there was no official update on the possibility of another show at Mosaic Stadium.
The first six dates scheduled throughout the United States will all be staged “in-the-round,” meaning Brooks and his band will be at the centre of the field, surrounded by fans.
Many fans unsuccessful in getting tickets online expressed frustration with the Ticketmaster process Friday. Anyone who joined the digital queue when tickets went on sale at 10 a.m. was met with a message saying there were “2,000+ people in front of you.” For those at the back of the virtual line, that message held for over an hour until a black bar appeared on the page: “Uh-oh! These tickets went fast and we’re unable to find more right now.”
Many social media users celebrating their purchase said they had better luck by calling Ticketmaster instead of waiting online.
As word spread about the sellout, tickets quickly appeared on re-seller website Stubhub for at least $100US, about $35 more than the direct price through Ticketmaster.
Resellers are not allowed to sell tickets within the first 48 hours of sale to the public. After that time period, resellers can advertise and sell tickets, usually at inflated prices. The FCAA warned that any tickets being resold during that first 48 hours may be fake.
Other signs a ticket might be fake include being listed for sale without specific seat numbers and listed in U.S. dollar amounts for a Canadian show.
If you do buy a ticket from a reseller, the FCAA recommends doing so with a credit card. This is because it could be easier to get a refund in case it turns out the ticket is fake.
Brooks won’t be the only high-profile musical act in town that August weekend. The Regina Folk Festival is presenting nine artists a night over the weekend of Aug. 9-11 as well as a variety of other events and attractions to celebrate their 50th anniversary.
RFF and REAL have even been in talks about the possibility of doing some joint marketing for the weekend’s events.
Reid said they will also be working with other groups like the Regina Hotel Association to encourage people to come to Regina.
