Top dollar tunes: The highest-grossing shows at Allegiant Stadium

The venue was massive.

The initial expectations for how many live shows would take place there annually?

Not so much.

“Really, we didn’t plug in very many concerts in the projection for the stadium — two or three a year, maybe?” said Steve Hill, chairman of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority, in a 2021 interview with the Review-Journal before the first show at Allegiant stadium. “Now, we’re seeing that concerts are going to be a bigger component of that than we originally thought.”

That’s fast becoming a bigger and bigger understatement as the years go by.

Since EDM superstar Illenium became the first act to play Allegiant Stadium on July 3, 2021, the venue has hosted nearly two dozen acts and put Vegas squarely on the stadium concert venue map.

What shows have delivered the biggest box office?

Let’s count them down….

(Note: Box office numbers are not available for Taylor Swift’s two-night stand at the venue on March 24-25, 2023 or Ed Sheeran’s October 28, 2023 concert.)

One-off shows

1. Rolling Stones, Nov. 6, 2o21, $14.8 million

Will they be able to top this massive number when they return to the venue on May 11.

2. Blackpink, Aug. 18, 2023, $11.4 million

Vegas was one of but four cities the K-pop superstars played on their 2023 U.S. tour.

3. Pink, Oct. 7, 2023, $8.9 million

It was no longer summertime when Pink’s “Summer Carnival 2023” hit town last fall, but that didn’t stop a sold-out crowd of over 54,000 fans packing the place. She returns to Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 13.

4. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aug. 6, 2022, $8.4 million

The Chilis did blockbuster business during their first headlining gig at the stadium. Their next show at the venue on April 1, 2023 not quite as much: it grossed a mere $4.6 million.

5. The Weeknd, Aug. 20, 2022, $8.3 million

Only three other markets grossed more per show than Vegas on the R&B superstar’s “After Hours til Dawn Tour.”

6. Elton John, Nov. 1, 2022, $8 million

John bid adieu to touring life with a huge gate at his final Vegas gig.

7. Metallica, Feb. 25, 2022, $7.6 million

The first metal show at Allegiant Stadium drew over 44,000 headbangers.

8. Karol G, Aug. 10, 2023, $7.2 million

The second female headliner at the stadium after Taylor Swift also sold out the venue.

9. Billy Joel, Feb. 26, 2022, $6.2 million

Joel plays Allegiant Stadium once again on Nov. 9, this time with Sting.

10. Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Sept. 9, 2022, $5.5 million

Holy hair spray, the only bigger than the bangs at this ’80s metal-led bill was the box office.

Multi-night stands

1. BTS, April 8-9, 15-16, 2022, $36 million

K-pop superstars concluded their “Permission to Dance On Stage” with the outings most lucrative multi-night run.

2. Beyoncé, Aug. 26-27, 2023, $25.7 million

Beyoncé’s first tour in five years cashed in — big — on pent-up demand.

3. Bad Bunny, Sept. 23-24, 2022, $22.1 million

The title of the Puerto Rican rapper-singer’s “World Hottest Tour” wasn’t hyperbole, drawing over 92,000 fans to the stadium.