Country singer Morgan Wallen will play Michigan Stadium on Friday and Saturday, the latest example of a “fast-growing trend” of concert promoters booking college stadiums, according to Brian McCollum of the DETROIT FREE PRESS. Ann Arbor is “one of several college towns” on Wallen’s current tour. Fellow country artist Zach Bryan’s show in Ann Arbor last September generated an estimated $1.6M. Bryan’s visit “made headlines worldwide” last fall as it was the first concert at the 99-year-old venue. It also “landed in the record books as the biggest ticketed concert in U.S. history” with 112,408 people in attendance. Wallen “won’t approach that kind of nightly number” as he is “bringing a more traditional stage configuration.” That means the stadium’s “entire south end zone is unavailable for seating this weekend.” Despite the reduced capacity, the two shows are “projected to bring in” $4M to the university (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 7/23).
EVERY PENNY COUNTS: In Louisville, Payton Titus noted the Univ. of Louisville Athletic Association netted $569,873 from Bryan’s April 11 concert at L&N Stadium. That is a “fraction of what a typical home football game makes,” but revenue from non-athletic events adds up. ULAA CFO Heidi Huebner called it “a domino effect.” Huebner: “Promoters are understanding that colleges are trying to find more revenue, so you’re finding more tours are tailoring to college venues for that reason.” The Bryan concert generated $9.4M in revenue, but UL’s shared expenses with and to promoter AEG Presents added up to $8.83M. UL is “trying to be as aggressive as possible in securing more outside events.” It is “possible that securing such events will shift over to Louisville’s new non-profit Cardinal Ventures” (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 7/23).
