Popular Valentine’s Day Events

 This Valentine’s Day fans are skipping the chocolates and scheduling an unforgettable outing with those closest to them. Whether planning a romantic date, a single ladies’ celebration, a family outing or a guys’ day out, fans continue to search for that perfect unforgettable event. A review of Valentine’s Day event searches on TicketCity.com for the week of February 1st reveals what fans consider the hottest events this year.

  2/14/10 Events
City
SPORTS Daytona 500  Daytona, FL
NBA All-Star Game Dallas, TX
San Antonio Rodeo San Antonio, TX
SAP Open Tennis San Jose, CA
Winter Games Vancouver, BC
     
CONCERTS  David Bisbal Miami, FL
John Mayer Toronto, ON
Mariah Carey Chicago, IL
Rufus Wainwright Atlantic City, NJ
Santana Las Vegas, NV
     
THEATRE Billy Elliot New York, NY
Miss Saigon Houston, TX
Phantom of the Opera      Orlando, FL
West Side Story New York, NY
Wicked San Francisco, CA

It’s not too late to order event tickets for that special Valentine.
Not sure what to get? Consider a TicketCity gift card good for any event!

2010 NBA All-Star Game this weekend

This weekend the NBA will host the 59th NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, Texas.  The All-Star Game has become a weekend full of activities that will play out across the Metroplex.  Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington will host the game on Sunday and the American Airlines Center in Dallas will host the Friday and Saturday night events.

The Dallas Morning News reports that over 90,000 tickets have been sold for the 2010 All-Star Game.  That figure already makes the 2010 NBA All-Star Game the all-time record holder for attendance at a basketball game, beating a 2003 college basketball game that was played at Ford Field in Detroit.

2010 NBA All-Star Weekend events (February 12th-14th):
FRIDAY:  All-Star Celebrity Game & Rookie vs Sophomores Game @ American Airlines Arena

SATURDAY: NBA All-Star Saturday Night @ American Airlines Arena (featuring: HORSE, Slam Dunk Contest & 3-point Shooting Contest)

SUNDAY: NBA-All Star Game @ Cowboys Stadium

This is only the 5th time the NBA has played in the All-Star Game in Texas, so expect it will be a huge production by the entire City of Dallas and surrounding area.  If you want to attend, it is not too late to still get tickets.  Buy 2010 NBA All-Star Game tickets at TicketCity or by calling 1.800.880.8886.

What is the most watched program in TV History?

According to Nielson’s recently released estimates, last night’s 2010 Super Bowl between the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints now tops the list. The game surpassed the previous 106 million viewership record set by the M-A-S-H series finales in 1983. 

The Super Bowl’s viewership was an estimated 106.5 million. This proved a successful gamble for most advertisers including our Austin neighbors HomeAway.  They experienced one million incremental page views following the Chevy Chase/Griswold-themed commercial. Today, the number of unique visitors to the HomeAway site has increased by 500%. Congrats HomeAway!

So is it time for a TicketCity Super Bowl ad? Let us know: Facebook or Twitter

The Week in TicketCity Search – February 5th

The Black Eyed Peas at The Grammys.

The top 2 sports events traded places in a pretty close finish. There’s a bit of a longer wait between instances of “The Games” vs. the yearly “Big Game”, so I guess a pretty stiff challenge to Super Bowl dominance is to be expected. The reminder of the top 5 is fairly familiar. I’ll never miss the chance to point out the continued presence of the esteemed Mr. Bieber, who bests John Mayer and list favorite Taylor Swift this week.

The bottom 5 is where things get interesting. The only returning entry is the venerable WWE, perhaps riding a wave of popularity due to their popular first PPV of the year, Survivor Series. The remainder of the lower end of the countdown is an ecelectic bunch of newcomers, lead by a new concert entry, the Black Eyed Peas. The Peas’ “The E.N.D. World Tour” is hitting North American shores this month and will remain here until April before heading off to Europe.

While time is running out for Super Bowl tickets for this weekend, there’s ample time to pick up tickets to the “Super Bowl of NASCAR”, the Daytona 500, which clocks in at #7. NASCAR likes to open big, as the biggest race of the year is one of the very first. Following Daytona on the list is the Senior Bowl, which, while I’d like to suggest you go, has already happened this year. Obviously a pretty big last mintue rush for that one.

Finally, it’s rodeo season in Texas, and San Antonio is kicking off this weekend. It runs for almost two and half weeks, with a lot of top tier concerts, so there’s lots of time to pick up tickets and see the shows.

Current
Rank
Last
Week
Keyword
Searched
1 2 Winter Games
2 1 Super Bowl
3 5 Justin Bieber
4 4 John Mayer
5 3 Taylor Swift
6 - Black Eyed Peas
7 - Daytona 500
8 - Senior Bowl
9 7 WWE
10 - San Antonio Rodeo

College Signing Day 2010

It’s February 3, 2010 and a big day for college football.  Fans and universities across the nation are refreshing WebPages and watching sports television all day to see which school the top recruits will sign with.  Not surprisingly, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, and Alabama are the top 4 ranking schools with the most recruits from the top 100.  In the top 25 ranked schools, the SEC is a popular conference choice but Pac-10 is not too far behind with only two less recruits.  Here is a recap of rankings* as of 2/3/2010 2:00 PM CST:

Rank School Commits Conf Top 100 # of 5 star ***** # of 4 star **** # of 3 star *** Avg recruit star rating
1 Florida 27 SEC 11 5 15 6 3.89
2 Oklahoma 29 Big 12 7 5 14 10 3.83
3 Texas 25 Big 12 9 6 13 5 3.96
4 Alabama 26 SEC 5 2 14 9 3.65
5 Auburn 32 SEC 4 3 10 15 3.34
6 LSU 29 SEC 3 0 12 15 3.34
7 Penn State 20 Big Ten 4 3 12 4 3.85
8 USC 17 Pac-10 6 5 9 2 4.06
9 Washington 31 Pac-10 2 0 9 17 3.13
10 Florida State 23 ACC 3 2 7 14 3.48
11 Michigan 26 Big Ten 3 1 7 17 3.31
12 UCLA 21 Pac-10 4 1 9 11 3.52
13 Mississippi 25 SEC 0 1 6 16 3.24
14 Tennessee 25 SEC 5 1 7 14 3.24
15 Pittsburgh 24 Big East 2 1 5 16 3.21
16 Miami (Fl) 28 ACC 0 0 4 20 3.00
17 Oklahoma State 27 Big 12 1 0 4 22 3.11
18 Notre Dame 23 Indep 2 0 6 15 3.17
19 Ohio State 18 Big Ten 4 1 9 8 3.61
20 Georgia 19 SEC 4 1 9 7 3.47
21 Oregon 21 Pac-10 2 2 5 12 3.33
22 BYU 26 MWC 1 1 4 16 3.04
23 Clemson 22 ACC 0 0 5 14 3.09
T24 Stanford 22 Pac-10 1 0 5 15 3.14
T24 Texas A&M 22 Big 12 1 1 3 16 3.14
  • #1 QB Jake Heaps commits to BYU
  • USC grabs #1 WR Robert Woods and #1 TE Xavier Grimble
  • Florida signs #1 DT Sharrif Floyd and #1 DE Ronald Powell
  • Texas commits #2 DE Jackson Jeffcoat and #2 OLB Jordan Hicks
  • Texas signs 3 star recruit Case McCoy (yes, Colt McCoy’s little brother)
  • #1 OT Seantrel Henderson has yet to decide between Florida, Iowa, Miami, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, USC, Michigan, UCLA
  • Total commits: 2,297, Top 100 remaining: 3

go to recruiting.scout.com for more live updates!

*stats from recruiting.scout.com

2010 Grammy Winners On Tour

The music industry handed out small replicas of an obsolete piece of audio equipment last night. Many of the winners are fixtures on my weekly Friday updates, and a few may be this summer as they have tours in the offing. So here’s the list of the major category winners. You can pick up tickets to current tours or sign up to get updates when tickets become available for future tours.

Album of the Year
Best Country Album
Taylor Swift

Best Dance Recording
Lady Gaga

Record of the Year
Kings of Leon

Song of the Year
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance
Beyoncé

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Best Pop Vocal Album
Black Eyed Peas

Best Rap Solo Performance
Jay-Z

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Lady Antebellum

Best Rock Album
Green Day

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
Jason Mraz

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals
Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat

Best New Artist
Zac Brown Band

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
Maxwell

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals
Jamie Foxx & T-Pain

The Week in TicketCity Search – Jan 29th

Big shift this week, as sport once again claims the top 2 spots. Granted, it took 2 of the biggest sporting events of the year to dethrone concerts. The Super Bowl is a natural for #1, and will probably be there next week as well. Interest in the Winter Games is also reaching an all time high. The games are, comparatively speaking, conveniently located to the United States this year, so getting there won’t be quite as big an issue as it can be depending on the host country.

Lady Gaga fans seem to have cooled a bit. While she manages to cling to the countdown just barely, it’s a far cry from her weeks of dominance. I sense she’ll be back up top fairly quickly, though, much like Taylor Swift recovered pretty quickly from a drop to #8 last week to lead the crop of concert performers that round out the Top 5, the esteemed Mr. Bieber among them.

I realize I can’t remember if John Mayer has been on the list or not before, as I’ve done quite a few of these. Someone who I’m certain has not is the #6 entrant, James Taylor. This may also be the first time someone whose albums I’ve actually bought showed up on the countdown. James is playing some dates in May and June of this year.

Current
Rank
Last
Week
Keyword
Searched
1 5 Super Bowl
2 2 Winter Games
3 8 Taylor Swift
4 - John Mayer
5 3 Justin Bieber
6 - James Taylor
7 - WWE
8 7 Jason Aldean
9 9 Monster Jam
10 1 Lady Gaga

2009-2010 NFL Playoff Bracket Update – Super Bowl XLIV

We have arrived.  The conference champions are crowned and the 2010 Super Bowl is set.  XLIV will match the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, who are heading to the Super Bowl for the first time in 43 years of franchise history.  Saints fans will not want to miss this one. Get your Super Bowl Tickets here.

2009-2010 NFL Playoffs Bracket - Super Bowl XLIV

2009-2010 NFL Playoffs Bracket - Super Bowl XLIV

Great peformances for great causes!

Last night Patty Griffin and friends performed at the historic Paramount theatre to benefit Grounded in Music, a local Austin nonprofit. The concert kicked off with performances by two groups of kids currently receiving musical instruction by the nonprofit.  As a board member of Grounded in Music, Patty offered to organize a benefit concert and asked fellow musicians Jack Ingram and Scott Miller to join her on stage.

The performance was fantastic! With nothing but a guitar and mic, each singer/songwriter captivated the crowd with arresting vocals, intimate lyrics and hilarious stories. It was amazing to experience the power of Patty’s voice as it would burst with energy completely filling the hollow auditorium then fade to a soft whisper silencing the crowd and preventing even the slightest of movement.

If you missed this performance, Jack Ingram will be back on stage in Austin on Sunday 1/24 participating in another benefit concert at the Austin Music Hall.  The Help Austin Help Haiti lineup features several of Austin’s heavy hitters and is sure to be a great time for a great cause.

The Week in TicketCity Search – January 22nd

As the conference championships are this weekend, not surprisingly the NFL made a stronger play for the top this week, moving into the top 5 but only barely. Lady Gaga remains on top, while Mr. Bieber slips a bit to make room for something I’ve yet to talk about despite its being on the countdown for a 3rd week now. That would be the large international snow and ice related competition occurring in the 3rd largest city in Canada. You know, the city where Mulder and Scully spent many seasons pretending it was every place in America.

Taylor Swift tumbles a bit from the top five, where she ends up next to fellow country star and list newcomer Jason Aldean. Jason has been touring in support of his Wide Open album, which was released in April 2009. He will be appearing in the list’s #6 entry, The Houston Rodeo, as will the esteemed Mr. Bieber. Houston Rodeo shows in general are very hot and March isn’t that far off.

Finally another newcomer and a list rarity, comedian Chelsea Handler appears at #10. Chelsea isn’t the rarity, just comedians in general, who don’t usually show up here. While she isn’t showing up at the Houston Rodeo, she is on tour nationwide through at least May.

Current
Rank
Last
Week
Keyword
Searched
1 1 Lady Gaga
2 4 Winter Games
3 2 Justin Bieber
4 8 New Orleans Saints
5 10 Super Bowl
6 - Houston Rodeo
7 - Jason Aldean
8 3 Taylor Swift
9 5 Monster Jam
10 - Chelsea Handler