George Strait to Help Open New Arena
Does Ft. Worth ever cross your mind?
Well if it does and you want a chance to see George Strait, you now will have your opportunity as the modern King of Country has committed to playing Cowtown in a rare, one-of-a-kind performance. Though Strait officially retired from touring full-time in 2014, capping off his “Cowboy Rides Away” tour in nearby Arlington, TX at AT&T Stadium in front of over 100,000 people, he does play the occasional show still now and then, including limited run residencies in Las Vegas, and a recently-announced show March 30th, 2019 in Atlanta at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Chris Stapleton, Chris Janson, and Ashley McBride.
Now it’s been revealed that George Strait will be helping to open a new venue in Ft. Worth, TX when he headlines the Dickie’s Arena to be located on the Will Rogers Memorial Center campus on November 22nd, 2019. The brand new, $540 million-dollar arena started in November 2017 is said to have a seating capacity of 14,000, and though the area will be used for sporting events and other functions, Matt Homan, president and general manager of the venue, called it the “first concert announcement at Dickie’s Arena,” meaning the George Strait performance will be one of many musical events to happen at the new facility. Asleep At The Wheel will open the show.
Tickets for the show will start at $19.82, to commemorate the first time George Strait ever played Ft. Worth in 1982, performing at the legendary Billy Bob’s Texas right down the street from the new venue. But you can spend upwards of $250 for the most primo seats where you can smell the starch in George’s jeans. Tickets will be put on sale to the general public on December 7th via TicketBastard.
This won’t be the first time George Strait has helped open a new arena. His Las Vegas residencies in April of 2016 helped commission the Las Vegas Arena (now T-Mobile Arena). Below is a bunch of Ft. Worth people poorly/awkwardly singing “Does Ft. Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” for what it’s worth.
November 28, 2018 @ 9:22 am
We need a new album!
November 28, 2018 @ 10:30 am
If you are a George fan you’ll know that his last album COLD BEER CONVERSATIONS was a criminally overlooked and unappreciated ( by the industry ) GEM with a few shoulda-been HITS ! And if you’re like me , each time you hear sold stuff like this from a ‘veteran’ of the business you absolutely cringe when you ear what’s considered ‘ award-worthy stuff ” by the industry …Rhett ? Aldean ? Brown ?…….man …how far out-of-touch and uncaring have these labels gotten ? Is there no one amongst them who will stand up and call it what it is and do something about it ?
Potentially excellent public servants stay away from entering politics when they see what it has become . Atheletes avoid sport that doesn’t respect the player and his/her safety and health .
How many GREAT young musicians, writers, instrumentalists , country or other , look at the industry and think ‘No way will I ever be able to pursue MY vision in THAT fake, pandering environment ” and make career detours . OUR LOSS !
November 29, 2018 @ 8:59 pm
A song writer ( I believe Bart Butler… or a song writer who works with J.Pardi a lot) recently stated on social media, that Strait had recorded a song he wrote. That doesn’t mean much… but George must be starting to record a project. George is currently signed with Capital Nashville records and they have a ton of clients.. So who knows when.. but I hope fall 2019
December 4, 2018 @ 9:55 pm
I posted this a few months ago: A friend of mine was in Nashville recording demos of some his songs. He hired a few well known musicians and one of them said he’d just got done tracking some parts for George’s new album. He said, the songs were stellar, but won’t get any radio play.
November 28, 2018 @ 9:35 am
I have no idea where you are seeing tickets for $20! I tried to buy tickets the day they went on sale for Atlanta and the worse/ cheapest seats were starting at $260. That wasn’t resale, but face value. People were flipping out on social media … go look at George Straits’ FB.
November 28, 2018 @ 9:47 am
The $19.82 seats are only being advertised fro the Ft. Worth show at the new Dickie’s Arena, and are probably only going to be a few hundred seats in the rafters. Can’t speak for the Atlanta show.
November 28, 2018 @ 10:47 am
There were cheaper tickets to George Strait in Atlanta. When I finally got in on the presale, there were about 5 seats left at $45 + fees for like the top few rows in the upper deck, but they sold out very quickly. The next tier of ticket prices were $185 each after fees, still in the upper deck. To get to the 100 and 200 level they are $295 +fees. The most ridiculous pricing for a concert I’ve ever seen.
November 28, 2018 @ 11:06 am
I guess by the time I got in those tickets were gone. Probably the same will happen with the $19.82 promotion. As a lifelong fan, I’m extremely disappointed with the prices for Strait’s concerts. Say what you want about Garth, he’d never gouge his fans for every nickle and dime.
The funny thing is on Strait’s FB page is the person running Chris Stapleton’s FB (or an imposter) is liking all the negative comments about the ticket prices.
November 28, 2018 @ 11:22 am
Though I’d never condone an artist gouging their fans, George Strait did say he was retired from touring. So my guess is the only time he’s willing to play is if a promoter money whips him so hard he can’t say no. That expense then trickles down to seat prices, and since demand outpaces supply, prices skyrocket naturally. The way Garth was able to keep prices low was by playing multiple shows in the same venue, increasing supply and reducing overhead cost, but now that ship has sailed since he’s decided to start playing stadiums.
November 28, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
It’s gotta be the new “dynamic pricing’ thing Ticketmaster has. From my understanding, it’s a demand-driven system, so they start really high when seats go on sale, especially for high demand shows, and then lower the prices if / when some don’t sell. Last week I tried to get decent seats for Iron Maiden’s upcoming tour, logged in the second they went on sale, and the cheapest 100 or 200 level seats were $250. Unreal.
November 28, 2018 @ 4:55 pm
Interesting. Then why even try buying tickets anymore? Let the bots get them, then try your luck on the secondary market. There are currently tickets (Atlanta show) on the second and upper level between $150-$200 on Vivid and Stubhub which is cheaper than the day of through Tickmaster. If the bots were driving up the demand and price, hopefully they will take a loss on excess inventory.
I hear you Trig about Strait being in retirement and it taking a big pay day to get him to perform. But I feel bad for the younger people. I’ve seen Strait in his prime 6x from 99-09. So no lose for me. But he (or the promoters) is pricing himself out of gaining any new (younger) fans. I love seeing young people at Willie Nelson shows … keeps the music alive!
November 28, 2018 @ 10:00 am
He’s also headlining the Buckeye country fest in Columbus Ohio in June.
November 28, 2018 @ 10:07 am
Still the king. Love it!
November 28, 2018 @ 11:10 am
You speak of Bob Wills, right? đŸ™‚
November 28, 2018 @ 11:09 am
Do you know if Asleep At The Wheel will double as his backing band or will his Ace In The Hole band be there?
November 28, 2018 @ 11:23 am
I haven’t seen any specific details about Strait’s backing band, but being 3 1/2 hours from San Marcos, I would be very surprised of the Ace in the Holers weren’t there. Will be interested to see who ends up behind the drum set.
November 28, 2018 @ 12:27 pm
Ace in the Hole boys play the Vegas shows. They’ll be in Ft Worth.
November 28, 2018 @ 12:44 pm
Strait will also headline the Buckeye Country Fest along with Blake Shelton in Columbus, OH next June. See https://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/buckeye-country-superfest-returning-in-2019-with-george-strait-and-blake-shelton
November 28, 2018 @ 2:17 pm
Should have Ft. Worth native Jinks open for him.
November 29, 2018 @ 5:14 pm
Well, Jinks is selling a Beaver Black hat (The Fast Hand) for $2,500 on his website … are these artists so out of touch with the fan base?
November 30, 2018 @ 8:51 am
$2500 for a hat? What does it do?
November 30, 2018 @ 12:07 pm
It’s the first time I’ve seen the flockers give Jinks any shit!
November 28, 2018 @ 3:21 pm
TicketBastards… haha that’s a first
November 29, 2018 @ 10:10 am
Im a big huge fan of George Strait no matter the price of the ticket and any left. I would pay the price and sit anywhere to see him my idol since i heard, All my exes live in Texas.
November 30, 2018 @ 9:47 pm
TCU basketball is only playing select games here, they are still playing on campus.