Premium

Ask the Memphian: Why hasn’t Liberty Stadium had a concert in years?

By , Daily Memphian Published: April 21, 2025 4:00 AM CT

On a warm spring evening in Memphis almost 28 years ago, the four Irish lads in U2 delighted 22,734 fans at what was then the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on their PopMart tour, playing Memphis for the second and — so far — last time.

But while the fans in attendance May 14, 1997, were likely thrilled to hear such beloved classics as “With or Without You,” “I Will Follow” and “Where the Streets Have No Name” as part of the 22-song setlist, the fact is of the 35,000 tickets available for the show, fully one-third — more than 12,000 — went unsold.

In fact, the Memphis concert was the second-lowest attended show on that first leg of the PopMart tour, edging out an appearance two days later at Clemson University that drew 20,251. Overall, the band averaged 37,812 people per concert on that 29-show leg, 15,000 more than came to the Liberty Bowl.

This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.

Topics

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium University of Memphis Memphis music Subscriber Only

Are you enjoying your subscription?  

Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community. 

You can help us reach more Memphians. 

As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.  

When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.  

Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today. 

Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community. 

Jody Callahan

Jody Callahan graduated with degrees in journalism and economics from what is now known as the University of Memphis. He has covered news in Memphis for more than 25 years.


Comments

Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here