Raymond James Stadium ranks top in US for concert sales

Raymond James Stadium has been packed of late, and the Tampa sports and concert venue can thank a piano man, the police and a country crooner.

That's the word according trade publication Pollstar: Also known as Ray J Stadium, the venue ranked No. 8 of 50 stadiums worldwide for gross concert sales and is the highest ranked stadium in the United States through the first half of 2024. Pollstar recently released its midyear rankings of stadiums worldwide for concert gross sales and tickets sold. 

To date this year, Raymond James Stadium, with 75,000 seats, has sold 115,069 tickets for a total of $23,856,249, the report found. That includes two sellout shows of major touring acts the first half of 2024: Billy Joel, with hits like the "Piano Man," and Sting, former frontman of The Police, co-headlined a five-show tour that opened in Tampa on Feb. 24, and Kenny Chesney opened his Sun Goes Down tour with Zac Brown Band on April 20.

There are several shows remaining on the calendar this summer before football season begins in September. Morgan Wallen and Jelly Roll are scheduled to play July 11 and 12 and Zach Bryan will perform on Aug 14. 

This comes after a record setting year in 2023 with eight sold out concerts– three Taylor Swift shows, Ed Sheeran, two nights of Luke Combs, George Strait and Beyonce. The shows, according to Axios and other publications, boost the surrounding economy by increasing occupancy of hotel rooms, ride-share use and local restaurant sales.