Year In Venues: University Stadiums Get In The Live Game

While there was a flurry of multimillion-dollar arena renovations and billion-dollar new stadium construction in 2025, promoters were putting their money on colleges and universities, and college turf has become industry green.

The reasons are obvious: University stadiums are among some of the largest venues in the country and as athletic departments grapple with NIL and fluid budgets monetizing in the off season has advantages for revenue generation, recruitment and brand awareness.

Zach Bryan’s Sept. 27 concert at Michigan Stadium at the University of Michigan saw the largest crowd for a standalone ticketed concert in the U.S., with organizers reporting an audience of 112,408. Promoted by AEG Presents, the concert was also significant for being the first-ever concert held at “The Big House” in Ann Arbor, which opened in 1927 and is the largest stadium in the U.S.

With the appearance, that also featured John Mayer, Bryan broke George Strait’s record for U.S. concert attendance, which the King of Country Music set in 2024 with a June 15 show at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field in College Station that sold 110,905 tickets and grossed $25,691,650.

Bryan also performed for approximately 85,000 people at Notre Dame Stadium at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, on Sept. 6. He was only the third artist to perform at the stadium, joining Garth Brooks and Billy Joel.

Coldplay played two sold out shows with their “Music of the Spheres Tour” at Stanford Stadium at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, on May 31 and June 1. Promoted by Live Nation, the concerts were among a small handful taking place at the stadium since the early ’90s.

Phish signaled a return of the rock jam bands at Folsom Field at the University of Colorado in Boulder on July 3-5, presented by the Rocky Mountains division of AEG Presents and the University of Colorado Boulder athletics department. The Grateful Dead performed at the 50,000-cap stadium in 1972, and then as Dead & Company in 2016 and 2023.

Metallica made history as the first major concert at Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, Virginia, on May 7 with their “M72 World Tour” in partnership with Virginia Tech Athletics. The band’s ubiquitous “Enter Sandman” has been the entrance anthem for the Virginia Tech Hokies, and playing it in front of the sold-out crowd (estimated at 60,000) registered as a minor seismic event.

Coldplay and Morgan Wallen made appearances at Camp Randall Stadium at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 19 and June 28-29 respectively. The shows were part of Wallen’s “I’m The Problem Tour” and were the first shows at Camp Randall since 1997. Wallen was also the first artist to ever play two consecutive nights at the venue.
Wallen continues his gridiron goals in 2026, while Bryan recently announced “With Heaven On Tour” 2026 dates taking him to stadium venues varying from The Alamodome in San Antonio to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Another potential barn burner is a stop at the 100,000-plus-seat Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Wallen’s “Still the Problem Tour” includes stops at several college stadiums including at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (April 18), Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (The Swamp) at the University of Florida, in Gainesville (May 15-16); and Michigan Stadium at Ann Arbor (July 24-25).

Other 2026 stadium shows include “One Night at Memorial Stadium” at Clemson University with George Strait on May 2 and Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan at Sanford Stadium at the University of Georgia on April 25.