COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) – Pop star Bruno Mars is bringing his first major headline tour in nearly a decade to Colorado Springs.
Mars is scheduled to perform at Falcon Stadium at the U.S. Air Force Academy on Sept. 26, marking one of the largest concerts ever hosted at the venue. The stop is part of a worldwide stadium tour announced this week.
Courtesy: Bruno Mars
Air Force Academy Athletics says securing an artist of this size has been years in the making and comes after major upgrades to Falcon Stadium.
“We’ve had a desire for a while to start bringing more major events to Falcon Stadium,” said Nick Kiger, chief program officer for Air Force Athletics. “We renovated the stadium, and there’s always been this desire to get big-time events, to include concerts, back at Falcon Stadium.”
The most recent renovations were completed last year and focused on the east side of the stadium.
“We completed a major east side renovation last year… brand new east club at the stadium, premium seating, rooftop decks, new built-in concessions and restrooms,” Kiger said.
Kiger said one of the most important upgrades is something fans likely won’t notice.
“One of the things we also did in this renovation was redo our tunnel to allow us to bring semi-trucks down to the floor,” he said. “We were strategic in doing that in hopes that we would be able to bring events like this concert to Falcon Stadium.”
Falcon Stadium currently holds just over 39,000 people. Event organizers say the concert will include a different seating configuration, with some seats removed for the stage and floor seating added.
Pricing has not yet been finalized, but officials say there will be a range of ticket options.
“This is a public event,” Kiger said. “That’s one of the misconceptions about the Academy… but we are open to the public and excited to be welcoming the public for this event.”
Air Force Academy Athletics says revenue generated from the concert will be reinvested into the academy.
“All of the money that we bring in goes back to our cadet athletes and to cadets across the academy,” Kiger said. “Everything goes back into our programs.”
For Colorado Springs residents, the concert offers a rare opportunity to see a major international artist without traveling to Denver.
“To go to big shows, you typically have to go to Denver,” Kiger said. “But we just feel so fortunate to have a major artist, big-time event coming to our venue.”
Academy officials acknowledge traffic concerns tied to large-scale events at Falcon Stadium and encourage concertgoers to carpool, arrive early and plan ahead.
Presale begins on Wednesday, Jan. 14, at 12 p.m. local time. To participate, fans must sign up at BrunoMars.com by Monday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m. P.T. The remaining tickets will be available for general onsale, which starts on Thursday, Jan. 15 at noon local time.
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