Ohio Stadium, the household of the Ohio State University football group, opened on the campus a century back, in 1922. But it wasn’t until finally 1988 that it hosted a rock concert.
When Pink Floyd played there on Might 28 that 12 months, it made Columbus tunes record as both equally the initial concert at the Horseshoe and the major 1 at any time held in the town (at that time). Approximately 64,000 persons attended.
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Columbus did not nevertheless have Nationwide Arena, Value City Arena or the Polaris Amphitheater, so major-identify live shows have been held at Veterans Memorial, Ohio Center’s Battelle Hall, Mershon Auditorium or St. John Arena — all significantly more compact venues. To see the significant, huge names, you had to travel to Cleveland or Cincinnati, or maybe to Pittsburgh or Indianapolis.
The cost for a reserved subject or stadium ticket to see Pink Floyd was $20. Ohio Point out University college students, college and staff members had very first dibs, for a few days, ahead of revenue opened to the general public. The Columbus day was a single of practically 200 reveals all through the band’s “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” earth tour that experienced introduced the previous 12 months.
In the course of the Ohio Stadium present, a pig essentially flew higher than the concertgoers’ heads. (Effectively, a laser-gentle exhibit model of the band’s trademark pig did, through “Learning to Fly.”)
A compact group of protesters from Jed Smock’s Campus Ministry United states preached to admirers right before the concert, urging them to repent for their “worship” of the band. Law enforcement officers monitored the scenario, which did not escalate.
The band returned to the stadium in 1994, drawing additional than 70,000 people today.
Other acts that have performed at the Horseshoe: The Rolling Stones, U2, Genesis, Metallica, Billy Joel and Elton John, A person Route, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce and Jay-Z, among many others. The Buckeye Nation Superfest, with top-identify stars such as George Strait and Keith Urban, has designed 4 appearances because 2015, with a fifth just one set for July.
With an formal seating ability of 102,780, Ohio Stadium is the premier-potential venue in the state, by considerably.
Contributor Linda Deitch was a Dispatch librarian for 25 a long time.
