Ruoff Music Center, 12880 E. 146th St., Noblesville, opened in 1989. (IBJ file photo)
No concert amphitheater in the world sold more tickets in 2023 than Noblesville’s Ruoff Music Center, according to a year-end summary published by Pollstar magazine.
The 24,000-capacity outdoor venue sold 618,457 tickets for performances this year, good for No. 1 on Pollstar’s Top 100 Amphitheaters list. Pine Knob Music Theatre in suburban Detroit ranked No. 2 (549,308), followed by the Cynthia Mitchell Woods Pavilion in suburban Houston (457,324).
When ranking amphitheaters by gross sales, Ruoff Music Center placed No. 3 with $31.8 million. Maryland’s Merriweather Post Pavilion ranked No. 1 ($34 million), followed by California’s Hollywood Bowl ($32.4 million).
The average price of a ticket sold at face value for a 2023 Ruoff Music Center show was $51.36.
On Pollstar’s list of top concert arenas worldwide, Gainbridge Fieldhouse ranked No. 47 with gross sales of $46.6 million. With 537,650 tickets sold, the average price of a ticket purchased at face value for a 2023 Gainbridge Fieldhouse show was $86.69.
In 2023, Gainbridge Fieldhouse hosted performances by artists such as Elton John, the Eagles and Paramore.
Pollstar also published a list of the Top 10 North American tours by gross sales in 2023. One artist on the list, Pink, performed in central Indiana this year. Following her Nov. 7 show at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Pink (No. 5 on the 2023 list) scheduled an Oct. 12, 2024, performance at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Lucas Oil Stadium will host three other artists from the 2023 Pollstar list next year. Chart-topper Taylor Swift is set to headline three shows Nov. 1-3. Morgan Wallen, No. 3 on the 2023 list, has a two-night stand scheduled April 4-5. And George Strait, No. 8 on the 2023 list, will perform May 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The following artists from the 2023 list skipped central Indiana this year and aren’t on the books for 2024: Beyonce Knowles (No. 2), Drake (No. 4), Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band (No. 6), Karol G (No. 9) and RBD (No. 10).
Ruoff Music Center, which opened in 1989 as Deer Creek Music Center, has placed in the top three of Pollstar’s tickets-sold-at-amphitheaters chart three times since 2018. The venue ranked No. 1 in 2018 and No. 2 in 2021.
Owned and operated by Live Nation, the world’s largest concert company, Ruoff hosted the 2023 edition of Farm Aid as well as performances by Janet Jackson, Dead & Company and Jelly Roll among the venue’s summer highlights.
Live Nation also operates Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park, which ranked No. 67 among amphitheaters for tickets sold (80,000) and No. 76 for gross sales ($3.8 million).
On Pollstar’s worldwide list of Top 250 theater venues, Carmel’s Center for the Performing Arts ranked No. 170 with gross sales of $2.6 million in 2023.
Pollstar’s year-end rankings are compiled through data provided by touring artists and concert promoters.
