Metallica Concert Breaks Numerous Records at Alerus Center

Metallica rocked Alerus Center last month on Saturday, September 8. Not only did the band play in front of nearly 17,000 fans, but their WorldWired Tour concert also broke four significant records held at Alerus Center including highest-grossing food and beverage sales, highest-grossing merchandise sales, highest-grossing ticket sales, and highest-grossing partnerships revenue for one show since the building opened in February 2001.

One factor that may have helped break the food and beverage sales record was the fact that Enter Night Pilsner was available for purchase during the concert. Enter Night Pilsner is the band’s special, limited-time beer brewed by Stone Brewing Company. The night of the concert, Alerus Center sold 4,744 cans of Enter Night Pilsner.

In preparation of the large concession numbers, officials at Alerus Center reached out to Waste Management for recycling receptacles. “We knew we were going to go through a lot of cans and bottles that evening,” said Spectra’s Daniel Melise, Assistant General Manager of Alerus Center. “And with it being a pour-only show, we knew we could control the disposal of the containers. We wanted to be proactive and have the ability to recycle and reduce waste as much as possible.” Alerus Center wound up recycling 1,738 pounds of waste to be repurposed and avoid landfills.

“The Metallica concert had a tremendous impact on the hospitality industry,” said Julie Rygg, Executive Director of Greater Grand Forks Convention and Visitors Bureau. “With so many of the attendees coming from out of town, the entire community benefited. The Convention & Visitors Bureau is grateful to the Alerus Center team for attracting high-quality entertainment to Greater Grand Forks.”

The most impressive figure of that night, however, may be the economic impact the Metallica concert generated in Grand Forks/East Grand Forks. Thanks to the help of the Greater Grand Forks Conventions and Visitor’s Bureau, an Event Impact Summary was developed. The concert generated $1,492,978 in direct spending within the city. The highest sectors of those sales were lodging, food and beverage, and retail. On the night of the show, there were 9,266 overnight attendees.