Jay-Z, Kelly Clarkson, Third Eye Blind and The Veronicas will headline a UA concert to be held at Arizona Stadium on April 29.
The concert will start selling their 17,000 tickets on Friday and will continue until the event is sold out, announced the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, who is organizing the event.
While the cost to put on such a show rises above the $1 million mark, ASUA is working on a zero-based budget in which all expenses will be covered after the concert in the form of ticket sales and other revenue, such as merchandise and sponsorships, said ASUA President Tommy Bruce.
“”Basically, we’ll spend the money in the hole and then offset it,”” Bruce said.
Following the collection of revenue from the concert, the student government will be giving the excess money back to students in the form of scholarships.
Ticket prices will range from $25 to $200, although typical tickets hover in the $75 range. Sales will be open to UA students starting at 9 a.m. on Friday and the public at noon on ASUA’s official Web site. ASUA will be selling what they are referring to as “”EXTREME BASH”” tickets eye-level with the artists for $200.
The idea to bring a major act to Arizona Stadium began within ASUA three years ago. It is an idea that has become a reality for the first time since the 1977 Fleetwood Mac concert.
“”This has been an event three years in the making,”” Bruce said. “”We always want to bring a large-scale event to the UA.””
The concert will be set up with the audience on the west side of the stadium and the artists on the field.
The announcement comes after months of bids and invitations to 150 different music artists.
The past few months have seen rumors that hip-hop artist Chris Brown would be headlining the show, along with the emergence of Brown’s legal troubles involving domestic abuse issues.
Bruce said that Brown was one of the artists sent an invitation but did not go so far as to say whether Brown’s legal woes had a hand in the artist not coming to the university.
The announcement of the high-profile acts comes on the heels of last year’s McKale Center concert, also put on by ASUA, that featured Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. playing to a sold-out crowd of 9,000. Shortly after the concert, Bruce said the following year would bring much of the same.
Continuing the effort of bringing big names to the university each year may turn from a young trend to a tradition for the student government. With Bruce and Executive Vice President Jessica Anderson leaving the university in May, though, it is up to incoming executives and senators to help continue the big-name trend.
“”It’s certainly relative to each year at hand,”” Bruce said.
Bringing such big acts to campus could be a valuable tool for the university, as such efforts give students something to remember for years after they have left the UA, he added.
“”It’s something that’s great for students,”” Bruce said. “”We’re giving them something to look forward to.””
