Garth Brooks Breaks Heinz Field Record With 72,887 Tickets Sold

Garth Brooks’ May 18 concert at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh has sold out with 72,887 tickets sold, breaking an attendance record at the football stadium.

“The in-the-round seating for Garth allows for every seat in the stadium to be open, whereas most of the other shows we have to close off any seats in the south end and south corners,” Nick Sero, communications manager at Heinz Field, told the Pittsburgh Gazette. “This show also has a bit of a larger group of people on the floor.”

The previous Heinz Field record was set Sept. 10, 2016, with 69,983 tickets sold for the Pittsburgh vs. Penn State University football game. 

However, for concerts Pollstar’s records have a few in the 55,000 range, including Taylor Swift’s 2018 stop as the No. 1 concert by ticket sales with 56,445 sold and $6.23 million grossed, and The Rolling Stones’s 2015 stop the top gross with an eyepopping $9.12 million on 54,136 tickets sold.

Other concerts in Pollstar’s records include multiple Kenny Chesney visits, including June 2, 2018, (48,856, $4.6 million grossed) July 2, 2016, (47,111, $3.49 million) and a co-bill with Tim McGraw in 2012 that moved 53,325 tickets and grossed $4.84 million.

Yet more other big shows include U2 in 2011 (55,352, $5.05 million), Taylor Swift again in 2015 (54,801, $5.83 million), U2 again in 2017 (41,413, $4.2 million) and Beyoncé in 2016 (36,325, $3.9 million). With Brooks’ tickets uniformly priced around $100, gross would be in the $7 million range.

Brooks’ previously announced Stadium Tour stops for next year include The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo., State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis May 3-4 and Heinz Field. Garth already played to more than 84,000 fans at Notre Dame’s first concert, Oct. 20, despite rain and snow during the concert.  

AP Photo / Gerald Herbert – Garth Brooks Pirates
Garth works out with the Pittsburgh Pirates at their spring training baseball facility in Bradenton, Fla., Feb. 21.

Brooks just took part in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Grapefruit League Spring Training in Florida, where he worked out with the team and marked the 20th anniversary of the Garth Brooks Teammates for Kids Foundation, which has raised more than $100 million for children’s charities.

“As a celebrity, they haven’t cut me yet, so we’ll see,” Brooks said with a laugh after taking ground balls at third base and fly balls in the outfield, according to the Associated Press. “You’ve got to use your advantages, you know. Before you could crowd the plate all you want because nobody wanted to hit you. You haven’t got speed. You haven’t got fielding. You haven’t got hitting. So, use the other thing you’ve got.”