Five million strong . . . and growing Garthing.
Garth Brooks achieved another gargantuan Garthonian accomplishment on Friday night (Feb. 24) in Edmonton, Canada, as he celebrated the five millionth ticket sold during his Garth Brooks World Tour.
To commemorate the feat, Garth and company celebrated in grandiose Garth-like style with plaques, a banner and a video message from “The Great One,” NHL Hall of Fame member Wayne Gretzky.
The surprise presentation began as Garth’s queen, wife Trisha Yearwood, interrupted her own set to celebrate his achievement. Garth was presented with two plaques commemorating selling 5 million tickets over the course of two different tours, the first of which occurred during the 100th show of his 1996–1998 tour. To put his recent accomplishment of selling 5 million tickets into perspective, the Edmonton show was the 60th show of his current World Tour.
As Garth tried to leave the stage after the plaque presentation, he was beckoned back for the unveiling of a new banner that now hangs from the rafters in Rogers Place alongside the championship banners of the Edmonton Oliers of the NHL.
“We raised banners for Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Stanley Cup. But tonight, we want to raise a banner for Garth,” said Bob Nicholson, CEO of the Oilers Entertainment Group. “Garth, what you’ve done for this city, you’ve still got a few nights to go, but they love you here, I tell ya. It’s unbelievable and we want Garth and his whole team to come back.”
But the fun wasn’t over yet. In a video that played on the big screen, Oilers great Wayne Gretzky offered a congratulatory message.
“Hello, Edmonton, hi, I’m Wayne Gretzky,” he said. “And I just wanted to send my congratulations to Garth Brooks on a great achievement. As you can tell, we have the greatest fans in the world, in Edmonton and in Alberta. Congratulations to you and Trisha on a wonderful night. Congratulations.”
Before the show, TMZ reported that Garth surprised the 5 millionth fan, a husband and wife, with two new automobiles, a $5,000 Amazon shopping spree, a $5,000 Edmonton Mall shopping spree and a trip for two to Las Vegas.
All in a day’s work for the G-man.
