Garth Brooks was slated to have three shows in Tampa, Florida this weekend but was forced to cancel them due to conflicts with the Stanley Cup Finals.
The country star was originally scheduled to have one concert on Friday, June 5 and two on Saturday, June 6, at Amalie Arena. The dates were part of his world tour that was announced back in March. However, the venue is now preparing to host Game Two of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday where the Tampa Bay Lightning will face the Chicago Blackhawks.
Brooks, along with his wife Trisha Yearwood who is touring with him, issued a statement on his website:
First of all, we would all like to congratulate the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Chicago Blackhawks for reaching the Stanley Cup Final. As we now know, Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final is being played on Saturday, June 6th. All parties looked into moving Saturday’s two Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood shows to Sunday. The issue of getting the network crews and their gear out of the building and getting our crews and gear into the building late Saturday/early Sunday for two shows on Sunday raises serious safety concerns. It is because of those safety concerns that the choice is being made to refund all shows and reschedule depending on finding a date that works for both the arena and the tour.
This was a hard decision for everyone. We would like to thank Elmer Straub at Amalie Arena and Tod Leiweke with the Tampa Bay Lightning for working around the clock for the last 48 hours to find a remedy for the situation. We personally know Gary Bettman and are very familiar with the League and its players, coaches, and staff…they are all stand-up people. We are convinced everything that could have been done was done to try to remedy the situation. Congrats again to the City of Tampa, good luck, and we will be watching the series!!!
Brooks and Yearwood will resume the tour on June 12th in Birmingham, Alabama. Check out the remaining dates here.
