Leeds arena is 13th in world for ticket sales

The first Direct Arena has been ranked 13th in the world for ticket sales in a recent poll of global venues.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Jan 2018, 16:13 BST
Updated 10th Jan 2018, 16:15 BST
The firstdirect arena.The firstdirect arena.
The firstdirect arena.

Music industry magazine, Pollstar, has conducted its 2017 Year End Worldwide Ticket Sales for the top 200 arena venues.

The arena, which hosted more than 100 events last year from music gigs to sport and family events, was 13th in the world, sixth in Europe and fourth in the UK.

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The 13,500 capacity venue recorded ticket sales of 678,858 for 2017 with some of the biggest names in music holding shows there such as Liam Gallagher, Bruno Mars and The Killers.

Liam GallagherLiam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher

Leeds is in good company with the poll as it comes into a top 20 which also features top spot, The O2 in London which had 1,443,232 ticket sales.

Second place was Madison Square Garden in New York with 1,167,544 sales and third was Manchester Arena with 1,072,079 sales.

It put the First Direct ahead of other huge venues including the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Birmingham Arena and the Accor Hotels Arena in Paris.

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General Manager Jen Mitchell said: “To finish the year as the fourth best performing arena in the UK for ticket sales is an outstanding achievement and illustrates that the First Direct Arena is a ‘must play’ venue for the biggest acts in the world.

Heave ho! Pulling an eight-tonne bus in a Leeds car park is 'The Beast' Eddie Hall - encouraged by Europes Strongest Man, Laurence Shahlaei.Heave ho! Pulling an eight-tonne bus in a Leeds car park is 'The Beast' Eddie Hall - encouraged by Europes Strongest Man, Laurence Shahlaei.
Heave ho! Pulling an eight-tonne bus in a Leeds car park is 'The Beast' Eddie Hall - encouraged by Europes Strongest Man, Laurence Shahlaei.

“This is a result of the hard work being put in behind the scenes by our dedicated team, partners and stakeholders.”

She said that the likes of the former Oasis frontman, making his debut at the arena, the Strictly Come Dancing Tour and the Europe’s Strongest Man as well as Disney on Ice made for a varied and appealing calendar.

This year is also expected to be a strong year for the arena with tickets already on sale for comedian John Bishop, the X-Factor tour, Jason Derulo, Premier League darts and Paul Weller.

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Ms Mitchell added: “2017 brought us some truly memorable nights with global stars such as Bruno Mars, Drake, The Killers, Liam Gallagher and Iron Maiden all gracing our wonderful venue for the very first time and, with some amazing artists already lined up for 2018, these are exciting times for the First Direct Arena and the region as a whole.”

Sheffield Arena was 38th with 465,700 and Metro Newcastle was 47th with 401,045.

Related topics:LeedsJohn Bishop