Gazza wrote on Jul 31
st, 2009 at 8:02am:
the problem with somewhere like the Beacon - or other theatres - is that its all very well doing the occasional show there as a one-off or if theyre filming something - because they'll generate enough income from larger shows to override the lack of profits from it, but if they were going to play, say, 10 dates there, they're not going to even consider it unless they stand to make an absolute fortune because it would take them three weeks to play that many shows. You'd be looking at tickets being a minimum of $1,000 a head. Even the Stones would find it hard to shift 30,000 tickets anywhere at that price - factor in the cost of fans flying in for shows and staying in hotels, and thats a tougher sell than some might think.
Much more practical to play a similar amount of shows at an arena with an affordable price for everyone. 10 nights at Madison Square Garden instead with tickets at $100 would generate the same amount of money (it'd actually be more because you'd have 6-7 times as many people per show buying merchandise) - and there'd also be far more likelihood of fans going to multiple shows and filling the venue every night.
The Beacon wouldn't be as cost ineffective as you might think...
Look at the numbers from the Allman Brothers March run:
. March 9-28, 2009 at Beacon Theatre, New York, NY.
. Gross sales of $4,228,599 Ticket prices: $150.99, $100.99, $60.99
. Attendance: 41,831 Capacity: 41,831
. Number of shows: 15 Number of sell-out shows: 15
Of course the Stones are unlikely to get out of bed for a piddling 4 mil, but if they price tix at $250 - $100, they'd stand to turn a tidy profit.