Intrust Bank Arena GM Chris Presson had it right when he said in Have You Heard? that the arena can’t control who is on tour and when. He was responding to some heat that IBA has booked mostly country acts since it started announcing performances last month.
After he said it, and after reading more comments today, I started to wonder what acts other arenas in the region have booked around the time IBA opens in January and beyond. And you know what? IBA stacks up quite nicely.
According to Pollstar, these are the acts that have been booked at other arenas in the region in January and beyond (bold indicates those not announced for IBA, which opens Jan. 9):
Sprint Center in KC: Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Taylor Swift, George Strait/Reba McEntire and Tim McGraw.
Ford Center in OKC: Brad Paisley, Mayer and Swift.
BOK Center in Tulsa: Strait/McEntire, McGraw and Bon Jovi.
Qwest Center in Omaha: McGraw, Mayer, Bon Jovi and Strait/McEntire.
That’s it folks: John Mayer. Would the Mayer concert be nice to have and increase the diversity of concerts? Sure. But I bet KC would like to have Paisley, OKC would like to have Bon Jovi, and Tulsa and Omaha would like to have Swift. And I’ve had several friends mention that they’re most excited to see Jeff Dunham, who isn’t scheduled to play any of those other cities.
So who is on tour, after IBA opens, that we’re missing here? Remember, you can’t book them if they’re not touring.