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U2’s Claw stage, here pictured in Berlin in July, is 164 feet tall, will make use of 72 separate subwoofers and costs between $25 and $35 million dollars. |
With much fanfare and controversy, U2’s 360º tour rolls into Charlottesville on October 1. It’s only the third-ever rock show to set up in Scott Stadium after an April 2001 double bill of Dave Matthews Band and Neil Young, followed by The Rolling Stones’ performance in October 2005 during their Bigger Bang tour. Most of U2’s shows have sold out, and with a multimillion-dollar, panoramic stage set that opens the field up to fans, the Irish quartet stands to demolish stadium attendance records.
And on the topic of destruction—do you mind if we ask how exactly the band reconciles lead singer Bono’s save-the-world offstage ethics with the tour’s gargantuan carbon footprint? According to the Belfast Times, U2 will produce up to 20,117.5 tons of CO2 this year, equivalent to flying the band to Mars in a passenger plane. “It could be professional envy speaking here,” said David Byrne, who played at the Charlottesville Pavilion in June, “but it sure looks like, well, overkill, and just a wee bit out of balance given all the starving people in Africa and all.” According to U2 guitarist The Edge, the band has purchased carbon offsets to account for the tour’s eco-footprint.
Here are some other fantastically large facts and figures:
Cost of a Cavaliers football single game ticket: $23-50
Official ticket price range for U2’s 360º Tour: $30-253 (Ticketmaster)
Going rate for a general admission U2 concert ticket on the David A. Harrison III field: $699 (gotickets.com); $1600 (stubhub.com)
Cost of a Cavaliers season football ticket: $269
Scott Stadium official seating capacity: 61,500
Dave Matthews Band concert attendance: Approximately 50,000. The Bama Works Fund benefit concert was originally supposed to play Scott Stadium twice, but disappointing ticket sales led to the cancellation of the second night.
Rolling Stones concert attendance: 61,000
Estimated attendance of the October 1 U2 concert: Uncertain. U2 concert promoter Live Nation does not release projected ticket sales on a per-venue basis, but U2 manager Paul McGuinness told Rolling Stone that “the Claw,” a massive stage set with a 360º screen, has had the effect of expanding venue capacity.
Current Scott Stadium attendance record: 64,947, for a 2008 football game against South Carolina.
Lowest nightly rate for a hotel room in Charlottesville on October 1: $209.95 a night for two nights at the Comfort Inn Monticello. As of press time and according to hotels.com, it is the only vacant hotel in Charlottesville during the concert.
Next nearest available accommodations: Waynesboro
Height of U2’s solid-steel Claw set: 164 feet
Height of the Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang tour set: 85 feet—previously the world record-holder for a stadium set.
Number of separate subwoofers on U2’s set: 72
Number of Claws on tour: 3
Price tag of each Claw: Between $25 and $35 million.
Number of trucks required to transport U2’s complete stage: 120
Estimated carbon footprint of U2’s Scott Stadium concert: Approximately 457.2 tons, going by the tour average for each show.
Number of U2 tour dates in 2009: 44 total, with 20 in North America
Number of 2009 Virginia football games during regular season: 12, including five away games
Span of U2’s 2009 US tour: September 12-October 28
Span of UVA’s 2009 regular football season: September 5-November 28
Length of U2 tour setlist: 22-24 songs, including three encores.
Typical duration of U2’s set: Two hours and 15 minutes.
Length of an average NCAA football game: About 3 hours without overtime.
Years since U2’s last stadium tour: 11
Total projected global U2 tour ticket sales in 2009: 3 million
Sources: DMBalmanac.com, Hotels.com, Live Nation, Live Design Online, ncaa.com, Reuters, Rolling Stone, U2.com, virginiasports.com.
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