As demand at The Sphere skyrockets, U2 adds more dates
Questions about U2’s ticket demand at The MSG Sphere are being answered today. And that answer: It’s huge.
The band is adding five dates, running Oct. 27-28; and Nov. 1 and 3-4, for its “U2 UV: Live at The Sphere” concert production. The previously announced dozen shows are expected to be sold out by the end of Thursday, the first day of Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan presale.
General on sale was to start Friday, but there is no guarantee any tickets will be available because of the high demand through the Verified Fan presale.
This makes 17 shows for U2 at The Sphere. The band previously booked Sept. 29-30; and Oct. 5, 7-8, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21 and 25. A set of seven dates were added as the band proclaimed “overwhelming demand” for tickets to the 17,500-seat venue.
Tickets started at $140 and have reflected all-in pricing (no fees included), running up to $600 for VIP packages. But on Thursday morning, through dynamic pricing (which adjust prices according to demand), seats in the front sections were being offered for as high as $1,450 on the Ticketmaster site.
The Sphere reps state that the 60 percent of tickets to be priced under $300. But those who have waited through the presale report they couldn’t fine any tickets near $300.
The band is set up to sell 297,000 seats at The Sphere series, dubbed a “venue launch” rather than a residency.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.