Big Red Business: NU fully expects to have alcohol sales at Brooks concert

The moment nearly 90,000 Garth Brooks fans enter Memorial Stadium for the country music giant’s sold-out mid-August evening concert, they’ll notice a magical transformation of the historic old gray lady.

Start with the 360-degree rotating centerstage constructed between the 20-and-30 yard lines on the north end of the stadium, which allows Brooks to move freestyle playing to each side of the stadium.

About 8,000 concertgoers will have field seats, and the artificial turf will be covered with a thick, protective mat to prevent gouging and other damage. The sound system will include banks of speakers hung in different configurations, and there’ll also be lights galore — perhaps even from the stadium’s jumbo scoreboards.

And one more treat for many in attendance that night — perhaps for the first time, beer will likely be sold in the general seating areas in and around the stadium.

“We fully expect to sell beer,” said Garrett Klassy, Nebraska’s interim athletic director.

While details are still being worked out in terms of concessions set-ups and sponsorships, Klassy said in an interview that “we’re in a good place” regarding making the arrangement for beer sales. Remember, Memorial Stadium concessions areas are not set up for beer sales.

Red Rocks, it isn’t. Nor will Memorial Stadium come close to looking like an intimate Hollywood Bowl or other landmark concert venues. But one thing is certain: On Aug. 14, it will host one of the biggest acts in country music history. What’s more, the concert will top off a big week of live music in Lincoln.

“We’re going to have a lot of one-time exposure,” said Klassy, who has attended two Garth Brooks concerts — one in a small theater designed for an acoustical performance with just Brooks and his guitar, and one in a basketball arena at Penn State University.

Brooks last performed in Lincoln four years ago, doing five shows in three days at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Those shows combined sold about 68,000 tickets.

Now that Brooks is touring again, fans are snapping up tickets as quickly as they go on sale. Nebraska’s athletic department, for example, sold nearly 90,000 tickets in about 90 minutes, ensuring a fast sell-out.

The same is true at other concert stops, such as the one at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium the week before Brooks’ entourage travels to Lincoln.

Brooks, who has a net worth estimated at about $400 million, is being paid a guaranteed rate to perform in Lincoln, Klassy said. He declined to provide details.

Likewise, Klassy said the athletic department has a revenue-sharing arrangement with Brooks on sales of concessions, tickets, and parking revenue. The exact amount of the revenue split was not disclosed.

How much could the concert generate for athletics?

Klassy estimated conservatively that the event could bring in $500,000 to $1 million and “it could be a lot more. The concessions piece could be huge.”

Tickets sold for about $95 apiece, meaning those sales would generate about $8.4 million based on attendance of 88,000.

Of course, just like a Saturday football game, there will be bills to pay for security, parking control, concessions workers and any necessary equipment to handle beer sales and other items.

Klassy said there are lots of unknowns on the revenue model. For example, a rainy Saturday would have an impact on concessions sales, he said.

Brooks has played in all kinds of weather, including a November 2018 concert at Notre Dame stadium that was delayed for about one hour because of cold rain, high winds and even a little snow. The first-ever concert at the stadium drew 84,000 fans.

Brooks’ concert marks the third time Memorial Stadium has hosted a concert or entertainment event in its nearly 100-year history.

The first musical performance at the stadium was Farm Aid III, featuring Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, and Neil Young, in September 1987. It drew nearly 70,000 fans. The stadium was also home to a Larry the Cable Guy show on July 4, 2009, which attracted more than 50,000.

Brooks’ production team will roll into Lincoln about five days before the concert to begin building the stage, testing lights and the sound system, unpacking merchandise, and other production items on their pre-show checklist.

The artist controls the event production, and it is up to them whether the stadium’s video boards will be used during the show, said Klassy. Members of Brooks’s production team were not available for comment.

However, here’s a description — with technical nuances — of some of what you might expect to see and hear from Clair Brothers, the company that handled sound and staging at Brooks’ concert at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.

The stage: “Part of the show’s magic was the star-shaped stage with a 360-degree rotating center stage on which Brooks and his band performed — a theater-in-the-round concept where Garth moves freestyle around the periphery playing to each side of the stadium.”

And on the sound system: “The Clair Brothers PA consistently sounds great, year after year,” the company said on its website. “The fundamental core of the stadium rig is the Clair Brothers i218 line array system that has been increased in size to cover stadiums in-the round.”

To ensure sound quality during the event, Klassy said that rows of seats underneath the overhang on the west side of Memorial Stadium were not sold and will be blocked off. In addition, suites and club seats were not sold.

“Garth’s top priority is to make sure all fans have a great experience,” Klassy said.

With the concert falling in the middle of fall football practice, head coach Scott Frost had to sign off on practice changes, Klassy said. But Klassy said there won’t be any disruption, with practices shifting to the other indoor and outdoor practice facilities.

And in case you’re wondering, the football squad and other athletes will not receive complimentary tickets to the concert. Those would be considered improper inducements based on NCAA regulations.

When the athletic department saw an opportunity to bring a big-name event to Lincoln and boost the city’s post-pandemic economy, it was all in.

“We want to be part of the solution,” Klassy said.

How might the concert translate into dollars for hoteliers, bar and restaurant owners, and other parts of the trickle-down local economy?

By now, it’s almost a cliche to say that the concert will be the biggest ever held in the state of Nebraska. And combined with seven home football games this fall, retailers and other merchants have a golden opportunity to recoup business that went into hibernation in March 2020 when Covid 19 took hold.

Klassy told the Lincoln Journal Star that Brooks generates $10 million to $15 million in dollars churning in every community he performs.

“It illustrates the immense impact events of this magnitude have on our local economy, an impact that touches every corner of our hospitality industry,” said Jeff Maul, vice president and executive director of the Lincoln Convention & Visitors Bureau.

To date, he said, Lincoln area lodging facilities are reporting “extremely limited availability and extensive waiting lists” for those seeking rooms.

Brooks isn’t the only musician driving traffic and tourism in Lincoln during the week of Aug. 9. Maul said that week is shaping up to be one of the biggest music weeks in Lincoln’s history.

Scattered with a variety of shows, he said, the week “presents the opportunity for nearly 100,000 locals and visitors to reunite in Lincoln and rediscover their love for live music.”

In addition to the Garth Brooks concert at Memorial Stadium, fans can also reserve their seats for Avett Brothers & Willie Nelson at Pinewood Bowl on August 10th, ZooFest on August 12th and 13th and Dropkick Murphys and Rancid on August 13th.

Maul said Lincoln’s lodging and hospitality industry is now “positioned 2 to 3 months ahead of where we anticipated we would be, hosting events that extend far beyond the capabilities of other communities.”

“This is a trend I am confident will continue as we embark upon Husker football season this fall,” Maul said.

As for Memorial Stadium’s future as a concert venue, Klassy didn’t rule anything out. “We have a lot riding here,” he said.

Steve Rosen writes about the business of sports for HuskerOnline. Reach Rosen with questions, comments and story ideas at srosen@huskeronline.com.