The Arena in Corbin is within 200 tickets of hosting it’s first sold out show when Rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd comes to town on April 29.
Arena Manager Kristi Balla said the venue has been close to sold out on at least two other occasions, when Three Doors Down played Corbin in 2009 and Brantley Gilbert’s second Corbin show in 2016.
“People are coming from all over to see Lynyrd Skynyrd,” Balla said.
Balla said the advertising about the Lynyrd Skynyrd show was limited, but far-reaching. A commercial for the show ran during the premier of the AMC hit series “The Walking Dead” in October and on WWE’s Monday Night Raw wrestling show on USA.
“We also did a ticket giveaway on Facebook that included dinner at The Wrigley,” Balla said. “That got 7,000 shares. That is a lot of heavy internet traffic.”
Balla said there has been some other out of market advertising.
“‘Things to Do in Louisville’ picked it up on their own,” Ballas said. “There have been other things that have picked up the show that I didn’t have a hand in.”
Balla said while the music and entertainment business is big, it is a relatively small and very close-knit community.
“I had just got off the phone with the tour manager for Warrant. He was telling me he had talked to people from Lita Ford and Firehouse and they gave rave reviews about when they were here. How it is a great venue and they were well taken care of,” Balla said.
“All these bands do talk to each other. Their tour managers and booking agents talk to one another as well,” Balla noted.
Balla said this is probably the biggest step for The Arena.
“We are gradually building a reputation,” Balla said adding that she wants to bring in acts from as many genres as possible to spread that reputation as much as possible.
Tickets for Lynyrd Skynyrd may still be purchased at The Arena box office or online at www.tickemaster.com.
Balla cautioned anyone wanting to see the show, to act quickly.
“Nobody is going to be able to show up on the day of the Lynyrd Skynyrd show and get tickets,” Balla said.
