New Seats Released for Tampa Billy Joel & Sting Concert
Saturday night at 7, Billy Joel and Sting perform at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Although the concert has been officially sold out for months, scalpers have been making a profit reselling tickets. But now there’s no need now to pay scalper prices. Live Nation released some new seats for sale yesterday (February 21). How much are the seats? Are they good seats? Where specifically are they located? And why were these seats not available before?
Venues often do this the week of the show. Once the staging is in place, they see sightlines better and can add extra rows of seats they held back when the ticket on sale began. I like to think they do this also to ruin the day of ticket scalpers who look to cash in the week of the concert. But honestly, I think they just see more dollar signs since this Billy Joel and Sting show sold out months ago. The demand is clearly there for tickets the week of the show and releasing more seats for sale means more dollars in their pockets.
Where are the new seats located?
The new seats put on sale Wednesday are along the side of the stage going from the lower bowl right up to the top of Raymond James Stadium. Look for seats in Sections 132, 232 and 332 on the left and Sections 114, 214, and 314 on the right. The 100 level seats are selling for $229.50. The 200 level seats go for $169.50. Upper level seats in the 300s are just under $100. Keep in mind these prices are before those ticket fees we all love. But the total price will still fall far below what scalpers were charging. When choosing a seat in these sections, be sure to get the seats that are actually further away from the stage. That does sound odd, but the closer to the stage you go, the more view obstructions you could encounter.
Are there any field seats left?
Yes. There are also a few new rows of field seats added to the back of Sections A, E, F and K. Those are selling from $230ish near the back of the field to just under $300 for the field seats at midfield. If yo0u’re tall like me, go with those! Otherwise, stick to those 100 level or 200 level seats as far away from the stage as possible.
What about the first few rows?
If money is no object, you can actually still sit in the front row Saturday night. “Verified resale tickets” on Ticketmaster in Section B row 1 are selling this morning for a whopping $4,500 per seat. A pair of tickets in Section D in the first row have an asking price of $4,997 each. Wasn’t that nice of them to keep it under $5,000?
If you need to be up close to the stage, I’d avoid those and instead sit in the 13th row. There are a handful of “Official Platinum” seats there for about $600 each. All of the new seats and reseller seats mentioned above can be found on the Ticketmaster event page.
Q105 Front Row Photos: Billy Joel & Sting at Raymond James Stadium
