BLACKSBURG 鈥 The lush grass of Worsham Field was stripped away. The sprinkler heads were removed. The field that is home to the Virginia Tech football team was barren and level.
Part of the crew that sets up the stage for Metallica鈥檚 concerts spent the early parts of Friday afternoon beginning the process of laying down the flooring that signaled the transformation of a football stadium into a temporary concert venue.
The group began the multi-day process that will culminate Wednesday with a long-awaited concert that features Metallica performing 鈥淓nter Sandman,鈥 the song that has welcomed the Hokies onto the field for nearly a quarter of a century, in front of a sold-out crowd inside Lane Stadium.
Metallica is bringing the North American leg of its M72 World Tour to Virginia Tech鈥檚 Lane Stadium on Wednesday. The show will see the band playing a setlist packed with fan favorites and, most importantly, 鈥淓nter Sandman.鈥
鈥淭his is certainly a unique experience and a once-in-a-lifetime deal here at Lane Stadium,鈥 Virginia Tech executive associate athletic director Brad Wurthman said late Friday morning, 鈥渁nd none of this would be possible without a ton of people who have helped make this thing come to life.鈥
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Wurthman said 鈥渨e are completely packed as of right now,鈥 and estimated there will be 鈥渞ight around鈥 70,000 tickets sold for an event that will bring in more than a typical Virginia Tech football game.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen hotels as far out as an hour and a half from here that are sold out and have been sold out for months,鈥 Wurthman said. 鈥淲e hope this is one of those experiences that help make an economic impact here in the community for sure, the larger community as well.
鈥淚t鈥檚 as if we鈥檙e adding a seventh or an eighth home football game as well, in many ways is how we look at it. And we all know that that drives economic value here within the region. So having the chance to add one more of those in a year where maybe we didn鈥檛 expect to get one extra one, is a nice boost for everybody.鈥
The grass field at Wortham Field has been removed as workers prepare Lane Stadium for the Metallica M72 World Tour performance in Blacksburg on Wednesday.
He also said the concert at Lane Stadium was the fastest-selling show on the M72 World Tour that features stops in major cities like Nashville, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Tampa, Houston and Denver before it moves overseas.
鈥淚t鈥檚 honestly one of those things that stops you in your tracks sometimes, when our group, which has been working on this, 鈥 but this doesn鈥檛 just happen. Right? We don鈥檛 just show up on Wednesday and there鈥檚 a concert,鈥 Wurthman said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 been so many conversations and so much work put in. And certainly, for the entire university and community, when that happens, when you look at where they鈥檝e played internationally, and if you go down their line that we鈥檝e played at these X number of cities across the globe, and now Blacksburg gets to show up on that list 鈥 that鈥檚 a pretty unique experience for everybody here.鈥
Virginia Tech is used to managing traffic flow for football games that bring in more than 66,000 fans on Saturdays in the fall. With more expected to be in town for Wednesday鈥檚 concert, Wurthman encouraged fans to arrive when the parking lots open at 1:30 p.m. The gates open at 4 p.m.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be chaos on campus on Wednesday. Plan accordingly. It鈥檚 going to be chaos,鈥 Wurthman said. 鈥溾 We encourage everybody, if you鈥檙e coming to campus with a reserved parking pass, meaning that you purchased the pass through us here at Virginia Tech, we encourage you to take the Southgate exit off of (U.S.) 460. And then traffic will be routed based on where the opportunity lies within the parking lots.
鈥淪o we鈥檒l move everybody to the fastest moving line in partnership with the VT police, state troopers, that鈥檚 what everybody wanted to move with, so that鈥檚 what we felt good about that plan. We certainly ask for everybody鈥檚 patience with that process. There鈥檚 only so many ways to campus, so plan to be here as early as you can.鈥
There will be several events taking place in Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Salem on Tuesday and Wednesday before the concert begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday with opening acts Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies.
鈥淭here will be a few takeovers in a variety of places. It may not be as extensive as some of the other ones just because the other venues, a lot of their weekend tours have two stops, whereas we only have one,鈥 Wurthman said.
There is an M72 Pop-Up Shop at Kent Square in Blacksburg on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A sneak peek of Metallica鈥檚 latest film project, 鈥淢etallica Saved My Life,鈥 will be shown at Regal New River Valley in Christiansburg on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
There also will be a volunteer opportunity and a blood drive held before the concert. The blood drive is scheduled at The Inn at Virginia Tech/Skelton Conference Center on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A volunteer opportunity is scheduled at Feeding Southwest Virginia in Salem on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Brad Wurthman, Virginia Tech Athletics Executive Associate Athletic Director and External Operations Chief Revenue Officer, looks over the preparation of Lane Stadium in advance of Wednesday鈥檚 Metallica M72 World Tour concert in Blacksburg.
鈥淲e always talk about we鈥檙e in the business of memorable experiences, and this is one of those days that will be something for 70,000 people, this is a one-time-only experience,鈥 Wurthman said. 鈥淎nd on its core, 70,000 seems like a lot, but there鈥檚 a lot of people who are not going to be inside this venue, who aren鈥檛 going to see this experience. What we hope is that the entire town rallies around it. We want there to be parties in other places and we want every bar and restaurant full. That鈥檚 the hope for doing these things. It will be a night to remember for everybody across the board, and we sure hope people have a good time.鈥
