Garth Brooks’ Tampa Dates Fall To NHL

Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, had three shows scheduled for the arena – one on June 5 and two for the evening of June 6.   But that was before the Stanley Cup and NBC entered the picture.

Brooks and Yearwood relayed the news in a statement issued to the press.

“First of all, we would like to congratulate the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks for reaching the Stanley Cup Final.  As we now know, Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is being played on Saturday, June 6th.  All parties looked into moving Saturday’s two Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood shows to Sunday. The issue of getting the network crews and their gear out of the building and getting our crews and gear into the building late Saturday/early Sunday for two shows on Sunday raises serious safety concerns.  It is because of those safety concerns that the choice is being made to refund all shows and reschedule depending on finding a date that works for both the arena and the tour.

“This was a hard decision for everyone.  We would like to thank Elmer Straub at Amalie Arena and Tod Leiweke with the Tampa Bay Lightning for working around the clock for the last 48 hours to find a remedy for the situation.  We personally know [NHL Commissioner] Gary Bettman and are very familiar with the League and its players, coaches and staff … they are all stand-up people.  We are convinced everything that could have been done was done to try to remedy the situation.  Congrats again to the City of Tampa, good luck, and we will be watching the series!!!”

Refunds are available at points of purchase.  Visit GarthBrooks.com for more info.