2023 Concert Market Rankings: No 4. Chicago

The Midwest Entertainment Mecca

Reported Market Gross: $295,681,068
Reported Ticket Sales: 3,291,100
Average Ticket Price: $89.84

A poster child for the Roaring Twenties vigor, Chicago’s treasured vaudeville era theaters, friendly confines of Wrigley Field and electric blues foundation make it one of the most revered and storied entertainment destinations in the country.

As such, it’s no surprise to find Chicago venues of all sizes near the top of Pollstar’s Year End Charts, with United Center at No. 14 on the Top 200 Arenas chart, with Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont right behind at No. 24. United Center recently went through a period of 22 concerts and special events over a period of 51 days from Sept. 10 to Oct. 30. That time span included two-night stands from Eric Clapton, Panic! At The Disco and Kevin Hart. Single nights came from Lizzo, Post Malone and, sandwiched between six “Harry’s House” Harry Styles dates, shows with The Who and Iron Maiden.

“All the stars lined up on that,” said Jerry Goldman, United Center’s vice president of booking, describing the six weeks as being able to “ski” between preseason games. “It’s not every day you have the biggest pop act wanting to do six shows in your building, of only four cities.”

Growing along with the sports and entertainment industries have been the Chicago suburbs, colloquially referred to as Chicagoland.

“We can both live off of the number of shows out there for sure, and it is competition, but there are certain bands that should be downtown, in that kind of atmosphere, or that should be outdoors and to the suburbs,” says Pat Nagle, executive director at Allstate Arena in nearby Rosemont. “Maybe we’re in a good situation here just because it’s a big city but, knock on wood, we’ve been doing very well on every show,” Nagle said.

Chicagoans crave the outdoors after brutal winters, but arena shows have multiplied over the summer months in the Midwest.

“June, July and August, most of the time you’d do one or two shows, and in the last couple years we haven’t. It’s just booked solid,” Nagle said.

Check out Pollstar’s 2023 Concert Market Rankings chart at the link below: