JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city announced Wednesday that Paul McCartney will play at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena on Sunday, June 22.
Calling it "a historic concert," Mayor Alvin Brown announced McCartney's "return" to Jacksonville 50 years after the Beatles played at the Gator Bowl.
McCartney did perform in Jacksonville in the halftime show of the 2005 Super Bowl, but this will be his first true solo concert in the River City.
It will also be McCartney's only Florida stop in his summer tour "Out There" of the United States, and the promoter, AEG Live, says the former Beatle will perform several hours of music spanning his lifetime of music.
"I think it's an opportunity of a lifetime," said John Valentino, of AEG Live. "I mean, Paul McCartney can play anywhere he wants, and he's got the whole world to play, and the fact that one of those stops is in Jacksonville is something that makes us very happy."
Brown challenged SMG, the group who manages the entertainment at the arena, to bring more big names to Jacksonville.
25514642
"Paul McCartney is a global superstar who performs in world-class cities," Brown said. "Fans will come here from across Florida and Georgia for this concert. We hope they'll make a full weekend of it, staying at our hotels, eating in our restaurants, shopping at our stores, having a good time and returning home to tell their friends that Jacksonville is a place where great things are happening."
Tickets are priced from $29.50 to $250 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, April 25 at the arena box office, Jaxaevents.com and Ticketmaster.com. There will be approximately 13,000 tickets available, and a sell-out is expected.
This isn't the only huge concert coming to Jacksonville in June. The Florida Country Superfest, a two day festival at EverBank Field, is set for June 14-15.
These concerts, including the recent concert of Billy Joel, are all in hopes of making Jacksonville a destination of entertainment.
Beatles perform at the Gator Bowl on Sept. 11, 1964. (Photo courtesy of Florida Times-Union)