Forum marks decade in top 10
Tampa Bay Business Journal - 12:29 PM EDT Tuesday, August 14, 2007

The St. Pete Times Forum has maintained a place among the nation's 10 busiest concert venues for the 10th consecutive year.

Music magazine Pollstar used the first half of 2007 for its current ranking and stated that the downtown Tampa arena posted sales of 174,227 tickets to concerts, family shows and similar events from Jan. 1 through July 19. The Forum ranks eighth, while New York's Madison Square Garden ranks first.


Events staged at the Forum so far this year include the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disney on Ice and concerts ranging from classic rocker Bob Seger to "American Idol" finalists. Upcoming shows include "High School Musical," The Cure and Maroon 5.

In addition to the Pollstar recognition, Venues Today magazine stated that the Forum was the nation's busiest arena between June 16 and July 15 based on gross sales from concerts and events.

The Forum has been operated for the last eight years by Palace Sports & Entertainment Inc., which has arena leasehold rights as owners of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club. A sale of the team to Absolute Hockey Enterprises is pending approval by the National Hockey League.

http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/2007/08/13/daily21.html?surround=lfn

That's cool. I always thought of the forum not being one of the best places to hold concerts, but it is a good venue nonetheless.

^Better than the Sundome, and I'd say better than the Amp during the rainy summer.

I never realized it was so busy - I figured it could be doing better. Guess it's doing well.

^
I agree, the Sundome is not very good for concerts.

I'm seeing Maroon 5 there October 21st.
I've seen so much stuff there.
Gigantour with Megadeth & Dream Theatre
Rowdy Tour with Lynryd Skynyrd 38 Special and Hank Williams
All the WWE stuff. I've even been in the ring wrestling with Rick Flair there.
I love that arena and its so good that finally something has been rated as it should (TIA is not ranked right anymore wtf?)

Interesting timing of this article, for me. This past weekend Laura and I opted to go see Evanescence in concert at the Amway(TD Waterhouse) center as opposed to the Ford Amp this Wednesday because of one factor...it was indoors, air conditioned and not susceptible to rain. Now, don't get me wrong, the Ford Amp is an awesome venue from October - March but, during our summer months...forget about it. My concert dollars are better spent some where more comfortable and accommodating. Had the Family Value Tour been at the Forum as it has in previous years, it would have been a no brainer to see the show locally.

Besides, I doubt I would have been able to get any good low light level shots like this, in the post rain humidity we often see at the Ford Amp. :) Previous, experiences there having proved how prone to fogging your lenses can be in the humid smoke filled night air. The Ice Palace is certainly much more press friendly in terms of accommodations.
http://www.downshiftonline.com/rwm/albums/userpics/normal_52852_amylee.jpg
http://www.downshiftonline.com/rwm/albums/userpics/normal_53121_amylee.jpg


Bearing our excruciatingly long summers in mind, I think that the Ice Palace will continue to be a major player in this market for a long, long time.

^
I agree, the Sundome is not very good for concerts.

The Sundome is an acoustic nightmare not fit for much other than Bulls basketball and graduation ceremonies.

It's been almost 20 years since I've seen a concert at the Sundome. I remember the bouncing echo effect very well. :) Personally, I like the accustics in the Forum.

Personally, I've never been to the SunDome. But I've heard for quite sometime that the acoustics and stuff are terrible. The Forum is still a pretty good place for concerts though. Especially during the hot summer days and rainy conditions.