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.
57 Comments
THANK you! It’s like Wichitans think the Arena can just put a phone call in and order acts like they do pizza. If an act isn’t touring right now, doesn’t matter how much Wichita folks gripe, they aren’t touring – here or anywhere else.
Double Thank you! Why can’t all news stories be that good? 5 paragraphs and nothing but facts. Perfect!
I have never heard of an artist who would turn getting paid because “they werent on tour” now granted that pay day may be to large for somebody to come up with but seriously.
With that said I think the group is doing a good job bringing in acts. Do I like or prefer these artists – No, but regardless. More shows will happen. People need to be patient.
You could book every kind of act imaginable; cover absolutely every genre and there will be some idiot complaining. Next it would be the date, the time, warm up act, and so on. Some people are not happy unless the can gripe about someone or something!
All of you negative people need to just shut up. I was once told unless you have a workable better solution to an issue keep your mouth shut.
Thank you for printing this article. I am so sick of hearing the assinine comments from people, as if you should be able to book anyone and everyone just because we have an new arena opening. The stupidity amazes me, actually, it doesn’t and thats quite sad. You are getting amazing acts coming here and I couldn’t be more happy. The naysayers will always be here whining and complaining, unfortunately there is nothing anyone can do about that. I say good job, and keep the awesome acts coming!
Some people won’t be happy until Jesus makes an appearance at IBA.
Great article, as others have mentioned.
You’ll notice all the CAVEateers have stayed clear from this one because they have no argument.
Thanks for the cynical, snarky response to a concern of mine and others. Thanks for doing some research to find that The Bank is attracting the same caliber of acts as other cities in the region. Your tone in the final two grafs, however, is condescending. Like most journalists, you’ve forgotten that the newspaper doesn’t belong to you; rather, it is (or should be or USED TO BE) a voice for the community. Although with recent cutbacks (at the Eagle and across the industry), it doesn’t surprise me to find that those left in a newsroom are more than a bit defensive. It’s clear that the Eagle is on the side of the Arena, as it should be, I suppose. It’s unfortunate that such allegiance comes at the expense of a significant number of readers, and potential arena patrons, whose opinions and preferences in entertainment you’re so quick to dismiss.
I would definitely go to the John Mayer show, especially if he leaves the band in the bus. Acoustically that guy puts on a great show.
mcs7584, you can’t complain about the acts being booked at the IBA because it’s not their fault so instead of saying thank you for keeping all of us up to speed you have to lash out at the newspaper and the journalist for setting everyone straight! Cynical, snarky and condescending PLEASE, The article was informative and it explained the whole situation. How can anyone argue with that? Great job Wichita Eagle and Dan Loving.
Jesus appearing probably won’t even make them happy!!!!
This was an excellent article!!!!
the hillbilly music arena. country is not even music. it is almost as bad as rap/hip-hop. both are very annoying.
Zoinks!!
I promise to stop whining if IBA promises not to bring John Mayer here…
TheeLittleXII
Posted November 4, 2009 at 3:20 pm | Permalink
Great article, as others have mentioned.
You’ll notice all the CAVEateers have stayed clear from this one because they have no argument.
Not really sure what a CAVEATEER is, but no reason to insult those who prefer different acts.
I like some country, and some I don’t. I’m paying for the arena as well with my taxes. Some of the acts are exceptional, some are not. It depends on who you might be a fan of. I’m not so sure I buy the touring deal completely. It would be more accurate to say that in the areas mentioned in the article mostly country acts tour.
A quick check of the internet will show that many other performers are touring, just not in the area to include a performance here. That would have been more accurate than saying that no other acts are touring.
Those happy with the acts will go see them, those who do not like the line-up will not. It will either pan out or turn out to be another empty Wichita venue. No one will book here if they don’t think they can make a profit.
John Mayer – Icch, hope he doesn’t come here.
What most of the grumblies don’t understand is many of the bigger shows don’t tour the northern 2/3rds of the country during the weather due to transportation/weather concerns and arenas being booked up by hockey and basketball teams. If you’ve got a tour with 16 semis full of equipment, and every east/west interstate is closed due to snow, you’re not going to get there and set up in time.
IBA will be fine, people will come…they may have to walk a few blocks, but they’ll do it, and grumble the whole way.
oops, I meant to say “during the WINTER”…
HSB … Who are the acts that are touring after the arena opens? I’ve done a quick Internet search and I’m not really finding any. Places I’ve randomly checked: Arco Arena in Sacramento, Wachovia Center in Philly and American Airlines Arena in Miami. Out of all those, I see nothing other than Mayer.
Well rocknrolltaz, apparently the arenas in Kansas City, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Iowa and Nebraska are hillbilly music arenas as well. Yanni was at Hartman and TSO was at the Coliseum if that was more to your liking. If it’s Eagles or Creed they are not touring, Bruce Springsteen or Metallica are playing between Califoria and New York. U2 is touring but they just played to a crowd of 100 thousand at the Rose Bowl stadium so I’m thinking the IBA would be to small for them. Looks like it’s country for a while unless you want to travel.
A band just up and coming to a show just because there is a new arena in town? You are kidding, right?
Great job City Officals! You managed to waste $200,000,000+ of our money on another FLOP!.. And now we are going to lose 2.5 million dollars needed to fix the roads in the city since the city doest know how to budget money or read economic trends (this recession was known YEARS ago by anyone that has two brain cells they could rub together)!.. But I sure hope we get that $10,000,000 for the LED signs that point out the arena parking locations from around the downtown area since no one wants to come perform there!! If I budgeted my money like this, I would be living in the ally NEXT TO the Downtown Arena!
Bellbottoms … The arena was a county project.
Excellent logic. Build an arena to “compete” with other cities in the area, then book exactly the same acts they do. BRILLIANT! When people question the acts chosen, plead ignorance and blame the lack of selection!
Two hundred million dollars…now at the mercy of the entertainment industry. Excellent investment, now go beg the Liberals to play your silly new arena. Did someone actually dare to give it a trendy little name, “the bank”?
There must be a Monster Truck show touring somewhere. No doubt this will come to IBA, despite the fact that they told us it wouldn’t host dirt shows.
k
Bellbottoms’ entire rant becomes void after not even knowing that this was a county project.
And of course the great Shocker fan appears. He’s a pest on numerous sites (even a skyscraper site) just to whine about something he lost 5 years ago. Too bad he’s too chicken to reveal his Shockernet identity.
What a tremendous success story! To see IBA lock-step with the other major arenas in the region is simply another feather in the cap for all of us that have always believed something better was in store for Wichita.
I can’t wait until the arena is officially rolling and all the development announcements around the arena start pouring in. There is a TON of money sitting on the sidelines just waiting to snap up all the adjacent properties once the arena proves its potential.
Better times are coming for Wichita!
I will say that so far the bookings are fairly impressive. That helps make up for the loss of NCAA Mens tourney that I was repeatedly told was a lock. Hopefully they will make this thing work long-term and that they will fix the sidewalks, lighting, etc. These things are 100% the County’s responsibility to do.
Correct, County. But County or City, it doesnt matter… So TheeLittleXII, who did the business Risk Analysis on this project? Who paid attention to the new Arena going up in Tulsa a year earlier and how it might impact this from a larger city? Who evaluated the renovation costs of the Coliseum opposed to taking more taxes from US? Who handeled the economic research prior to pulling the trigger on this? (Did anyone realize the Fed funded part of these projects to use them as FEMA camps in case of emergency?…hmmm) I’m going to take a wild guess that “you dont know” TheeLittleXII.. I dont care if it was the state or the Fed. When I paid my sales tax for 2 years (or whatever it was) IT WAS HIGHER, and NO ONE WANTED THIS PIECES OF JUNK BUILT!.. Get your credit card out & charge those tickets on it to the next Icecapades event! Great feedback my friend.
Wichita a redneck backwater, can’t expect any crossover acts.
Film at +11.
Cow Palace upgrades were going to come out of the general fund (translated: your property taxes were going to fund it).
The 30 month, 1 cent sales tax was paid for in part by tourists (defined as those living outside Sedgwick County). In fact nearly 1/3 of the sales tax came from non-Sedgwick county residents.
In a nutshell, we got a brand new, state-of-the-art downtown arena for a 33% discount. Thank you visitors of Wichita for helping to make our downtown a more happenin’ place!
The dead of winter is a perfect time for the arena with no parking to open. Two hours driving around downtown looking for a parking place and then a ten block walk in January weather to see an hour and a half show, and then another two hours walking ten blocks back to the car, and dealing with a traffic jam. GOOD TIMES IN DOO DAH!!!!
You’re right. It’ll probably take you 2 hours to walk 10 blocks, chubs.
I’m in awe. the Wichita Eagle took a topic that interested it’s citizens, then rearched it and reported on it.
that’s right, I said researched.
Sure, it was just internet research, but it still was interesting.
That didn’t cost a whole lot more than just reporting what someone said now did it?
IBA is doing a great job. KC, Omaha, Tulsa, OKC and even Dallas hate the fact that we have a world class arena. I work in the music biz and trust me the acts that are booked so far are “top level acts”. Alot of pop and rock acts don’t even announce spring and summer tours until after Christmas. Keep’em coming IBA !!!!!!!!!!!
What will everyone be saying if the arena actually does well? Someone above actually congratulated the “City” (should have been county) for a complete failure… Last I heard, the keys haven’t been turned over….so, the game isn’t quite over yet. Country music, although isn’t my favorite, out-sells every other music genre combined. They just don’t have computers out in the sticks, so we don’t hear them all pumped up for the shows!
Jesus is already there … he’s the janitor
Any of the third tier acts announced so far could have easily been a fit for the Coliseum, Hartman, or even the Cotillion. The “big” acts Clapton, The Who, McCartney, The Stones, or even U2, as a rule don’t play any venues smaller than thirty thousand. Nobody said IBA couldn’t book acts, but they will be the same acts that could have played Wichita if it hadn’t been built. What a waste.
Shutterbug says: “Any of the third tier acts announced so far could have easily been a fit for the Coliseum, Hartman, or even the Cotillion.” “Nobody said IBA couldn’t book acts, but they will be the same acts that could have played Wichita if it hadn’t been built. What a waste.”
Complete nonsense. In your attempts to provoke, you only end up looking foolish and being laughed at. Bittersweet comments like this are what will keep the Pro-Arena crowd laughing for years to come…
Shutterbug says: “The “big” acts Clapton, The Who, McCartney, The Stones, or even U2, as a rule don’t play any venues smaller than thirty thousand.”
Guess what, all those acts save for “The Who” have recently performed at the Qwest Center in Omaha which is about 1-2 thousand people larger for concerts depending on the setup.
Posters who intentionally post misinformation should have their accounts deleted and/or IP’s banned.
WICHITA ONE said: “What a tremendous success story! To see IBA lock-step with the other major arenas in the region is simply another feather in the cap for all of us that have always believed something better was in store for Wichita.”
Actually, the lock-step is that SMG manages all the facilities you mention. SMG is in bed with Live Nation as their choice of promoter although SMG will rent the venues to anyone who can put up the deposit, provide the insurance, security and other incidentals needed to put on an arena-level concert.
I find it amusing to read this article, though, as it pretty much confirms what I’ve been saying in article comments since the first show was announced.
The “charms” of putting on such concerts will be evident soon. As I mentioned in reply to every negative post about Hartman Arena operations, each new facility has to overcome the owner and architect’s lack of foresight and planning.
IBA will be no exception to this.
Parking? If you think it’s bad for customers, consider that the stage crew, sometimes 100+ of them, the cleaning crew, the employees who “turn around” the arena from concerts to sports… need to get to work right before the show is over. You think there will be a space for miles?
To “hsb”, who posted Posted November 4, 2009 at 4:15 pm | Permalink
TheeLittleXII
“… A quick check of the internet will show that many other performers are touring, just not in the area to include a performance here. That would have been more accurate than saying that no other acts are touring….”
Actually hsb, you’re making your comment out of context. If you read the entire article, it *does* state that:
“…these are the acts that have been booked at other arenas in the region …”
I somehow got the impression that if we would only build a fancy new arena DOWNTOWN, that acts and entertainers would be falling all over themselves to come here. Now it looks like we will be getting the same shows that appeared at the Kansas Coliseum but at a higher ticket price and lousy parking.
So the arena will help future development. Whoppe do Shepplers will be coming to downtown soon. Oh wait I can also see a mobile home dealer there along the river. And also the first speciality wife beater t-shirt shop in the country will be coming to OUR downtown.
Elton John is/was touring with Bruce Springsteen and scheduled at Salt Lake City later this month. Wonder if Chicago is touring…they usually pack an arena of any kind.
YOU people are spoiled rotten. 1 out of all of these acts isnt coming to the arena and you complain. Why dont you step it up and go to KC like you would have before the arena was here. I will be going to KC to see John Mayer and enjoy the bars that are right by the arena..Power and Light District. Have fun in the ICT
TO SHUTTERBUG!! Maybe you should do your homework! I just saw McCartney at the BOK Center a couple of months ago. THe max seating there is 20k I beleive
Shocker_Fan in case you are interested….Monster Trucks are scheduled to be at Hartman Arena Jan. 8th and 9th. Of course we will get the same acts as Tulsa, OK City, Kansas City when groups tour they make the rounds from one arena to another. Trying to get them close together to save on driving time, fuel etc. If they are playing California to New York then they go across the states up there from arena to arena. How hard is this to figure out. Groups only tour so many months out of a year. If they are not in our area then we are out of luck. They don’t just come because we want them to, it’s business.
Here’s an idea: instead of sitting around writing comments that aren’t going to change anyone’s mind, how about using that Internet time and energy to hit Twitter or Facebook or whatever, make some connections and get a grassroots campaign going to bring your favorite performer in?
There’s a heck of a lot of performers accessible to their fans via so-called social media, and if the one you want isn’t at the least you can put together a vocal, local group of fans that will eventually get their attention. It’s quite do-able.
Interestingly, Karen, I asked people to tell us who is on tour that they want to come here. After reading through these quickly, I haven’t seen any suggestions of people who have announced tour dates after the arena opens.
Actually, nola0911, Chicago was here a couple of months ago at the Hartman arena. They are touring with Earth Wind & Fire. It was a good show – sorry you missed it!
We went to the BOK in Tulsa to see the Dancing With The Stars tour two years ago. It was a packed house, I sure hope they come this way. Hartman Arena was originally built for the sole purpose of having a place for Winks football team. Every now and then they luck out and get a big event but if you check out their web site most of the things going on out there are charity events and private events, which is OK, these things need a place to be held as well. Hartman will be successful if they are careful and don’t schedule events on the same days as the IBA. Last year they scheduled some kind of a Monster Truck event for the same weekend as the Shrine Circus and this year they have Monster Trucks scheduled for the weekend of the grand opening of the IBA.
Dan: True, but I don’t think people should limit themselves to announced tours. Better to have someone who’s still just in the planning stages seeing a rabid bunch of their own fans begging them to come to Wichita.
Granted, I have no idea what act has a sufficiently rabid fan base. I’m the wrong person to ask there; last live concert I went to was, um… Trout Fishing in America, I think. They filled the venue, sure, but it was the Parsons Municipal Auditorium.
Frank_Lingo said: “Actually, the lock-step is that SMG manages all the facilities you mention.”
I am very aware of this fact. I put the willingness of Sedgwick County to turn our arena over to SMG as one of the most important decisions contributing to IBA’s imminent success story.
wecandobetter said: “I somehow got the impression that if we would only build a fancy new arena DOWNTOWN, that acts and entertainers would be falling all over themselves to come here. Now it looks like we will be getting the same shows that appeared at the Kansas Coliseum but at a higher ticket price and lousy parking.”
Your post is a fine example of a deliberate act to inflame and misinform. Even a 13 year old child would be able to understand that Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift wouldn’t sniff the zipcode of our Cow Palace. The rest of the moderately informed adult world would know that the only act scheduled at the IBA that could possible have been scheduled at Park City’s Cow Palace would have been the puppeteer.
Frank_Lingo said: “Actually, the lock-step is that SMG manages all the facilities you mention.”
I forgot to comment on why I am excited that we have been lock-step with the other arenas that SMG manages.
Yes, SMG manages these other regional arenas, many in larger urban areas. But that isn’t a guarantee for us to receive all the same acts. It would seem logical that they have a greater pressure to sell out an act in a city of 2 million than they do a city of 650,000.
I expected SMG to discriminate a bit toward our smaller market with some performers just to make sure they sell out their biggest customer’s (arenas). But so far this hasn’t been the case. In fact, they have actually scheduled some A-list acts to play our arena first in the region which has floored me.
I believe our county gave SMG a pretty sweet contract, incentivizing them to make sure they fill our building night in and night out. Theoretically, it could be possible that SMG makes more money in a sold out IBA than they do in a sold out BOK or Ford Center. It all depends on the way the contract is written.
If I am not mistaken, Sedgwick County was so gun shy over a publicly perceived risk of taxpayer exposure to arena losses, that they gave SMG a contract with tremendous upside AND the stipulation that SMG will cover all possible losses during the length of their contract. SMG knew that IBA would be a success in this entertainment-starved market so they didn’t hesitate to sign on the dotted line. Now we have an arena that is guaranteed not to burden the taxpayer, and a VERY happy SMG.
Mark my words though, in a year, when the numbers show IBA as a tremendous success, there will be people on here calling for the heads of our County leadership for “ignorantly” signing a contract with SMG, and “giving away” the lion’s share of our arena’s profits.
SMG definantely knows what they are doing, However I’m not to sure the county will know exactly what SMG is doing. That will probably be the million dollar question in the future.
Maybe the author of this article should hand it to fellow Eagle employee Bob Lutz. Bob Lutz and Bruce Haertl have got to be the biggest complainers of the concert announcements so far. I turn on their radio show just to listen to them whine like six year olds!!!!!!! Maybe they should live in the real world where people are losing their jobs and trying to figure out how to put food on their table not when the Eagles or Bruce Springsteen are coming to Wichita if EVER!!!!
Excellet article! Thanks!!!!
Bob Lutz!!!!! He’s one of those who swore we would get the NCAA men’s tournament. It was a lock! I think Haertl also made that claim.