Larry Wilson and Mike Evans for helping spark the Richmond Coliseum’s new “Glory Days.”
The long-predictable, tired Coliseum has had more problems in recent years than just getting good bands to come and play. As lagging recent ticket sales for seemingly surefire money acts like Shania Twain and Creed proved, even if you bring them, they don’t always come. Wilson, the Coliseum’s general manager, and Evans, his Philadelphia-based boss, hope to shake that legacy, and they’ve been working on strategies to draw stars and patrons, as well as on millions in infrastructure improvements, to make it happen. And if you haven’t heard, their spirits were lifted in January by a mass of rock ‘n’ roll called Bruce.
Not surprisingly, Springsteen tickets sold out last month in mere hours, at a not-so-mere $75 a pop. Seems when you add The Boss to your vitalization efforts good things happen. Like Cher putting the Coliseum on her list of stops this coming tour. Mad dashes for tickets bolster confidence in the venue and will hopefully entice more big names to our stage. Years of inactivity may have passed us by, but the Coliseum may be on the verge of some new glory days. Now it’s up to Richmonders to support the music.