Here Comes the Rebound: Ticket Demand Greater than Pre-Pandemic

Echoing what Live Nation president Joe Berchtold told CNBC last week, recent TicketManager conversations with teams and venues all point to the release of pent-up demand for live sports, music and other entertainment events.

The most interesting takeaways from discussions of current ticket sales efforts include:

• • • Sales for amphitheater shows this summer are extremely high.

• • • Most teams and venues expect the first half of 2022 to have an extremely high volume of shows, perhaps the most ever seen in a six-month time frame.

• • • VIP and Platinum seats account for a higher percentage of sales than in previous years.

• • • Billie Eilish tour dates are selling out quickly, with many venue managers believing she could be filling 50,000-seat stadiums instead of 15,000-to-20,000-seat arenas. Some liken the demand to what they witnessed with Taylor Swift pre-pandemic.

• • • NFL ticket sales are up compared to both 2018 and 2019.

• • • Season ticket sales for both Los Angeles NFL teams at SoFi Stadium are extremely strong, with single-game tickets also selling well for both the Rams and Chargers.

• • • The Dallas Cowboys report ticket demand for the Las Vegas Raiders’ visit to AT&T Stadium is significantly higher than for previous Cowboys/Raiders matchups in Texas.

• • • The Cowboys also noted that the record-setting May 8 Canelo Alvarez-Billy Joe Saunders super middleweight title fight at AT&T Stadium was one of the fastest selling tickets in the venue’s history.