The July 4 Rolling Stones show at Indianapolis Motor Speedway "is the first time in the facility's 106-year history that a concert will happen on a date outside a race weekend," and live music "is part of an overall strategy" to build IMS' brand and its core business of auto racing, according to David Lindquist of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. IMS President Doug Boles said that track officials "explored the idea of a stand-alone music festival about four years ago but lacked the showbiz expertise to move forward." The venue last summer then "formed a relationship with concert company Global Live, a new enterprise led by the former CEO of AEG Live." With its famed 2.5-mile oval, IMS "has many places to tuck a concert stage." A spot in the infield northeast of Pagoda Plaza "was selected for the Stones because of its easy access for production trucks, its proximity to hospitality suites in the Pagoda and Tower Terrace and an ability to ring the site with concessions, merchandise and restrooms." Boles expects that more than 50,000 people "will attend the Stones show." Boles: "Whatever the number is, we want to give people an experience they feel is a good one and they want to come back and do this again. Our hope is that this isn't a one-and-done thing but something you're going to see more often at the Speedway." But Lindquist asked, "Is entering the concert business worth the trouble for the track?" Boles acknowledged the profit margin "could be thin" on the IMS show. He added, "Weather's going to play a big factor (in ticket sales)." Boles said that the track "is happy to be aligned with Global Live, a company that includes Bon Jovi manager Paul Korzilius among its executives" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 6/28).
TAKING THE LEAP: A GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE editorial stated given the "overwhelming success" of this month's Kenny Chesney-Jason Aldean concert at Lambeau Field, it is time for the Packers to "consider hosting more concerts" at the stadium. The June 20 event "drew 53,363 fans," yet it is the first concert there since '11, when Chesney "brought in 45,000 fans." Lambeau Field and the Atrium "have been undergoing renovation and that may have prohibited concerts during the four-year interval, but now that those projects are wrapping up, it's time for the Packers to look at more events." The Lambeau Field lease between the city of Green Bay and the Packers "allows for one non-football event a month between February and June, with the Packers having veto power." They could "even go into July and land another big-name concert that could fill a stadium" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 6/28).
