Garth Brooks Tapped for First Concert at Notre Dame Stadium

Garth Brooks has been chosen to play the first-ever concert at Notre Dame Stadium, with the country icon set to headline the inaugural show, the date of which has not yet been announced.

“Notre Dame stadium has seen so many iconic moments!” Brooks said in a press release. “I look forward to bringing a new kind of crazy to the party.”

The stadium was established in 1930 and has since become a legendary sports venue, which will now follow in the tradition of many others with its very first concert.

“Tradition and memories are built in that stadium. It’s an iconic place,” said Mike Seamon, Vice President for Campus Safety and Event Management at Notre Dame. “This is an important moment and once we decided we were going to have a concert, Garth just jumped into our minds right away. And we knew that he had to be the one. That was it.”

The news of Brooks’ show was announced in Nashville on Monday, July 9 at a press conference including Brooks, former University of Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz and other representatives from the University.

“Right from the outset, I just felt that Garth represents Notre Dame’s values,” said John Affleck-Graves, Notre Dame’s executive vice president. “And he is the perfect choice as the first artist to perform in concert in the stadium that Rockne built. This promises to be one of the biggest events in Notre Dame’s history.”

Brooks is one of the most successful entertainers of all time, and currently holds the title of the best-selling solo albums artist in the United States. He is also the only artist to have released seven albums that have achieved diamond status in the U.S., and his recent three-year North American tour with wife Trisha Yearwood became the best-selling North American tour of all time.

The Notre Dame show will make Brooks the first artist to perform a full, stand-alone concert at the stadium. The venue has seen multiple artists perform one or two songs during various halftimes and at the 1987 Special Olympics opening ceremony, but Brooks’ concert will be the first of its kind at the famous venue.

“It’s never been done before. And it’s our understanding that Garth loves to do things that haven’t been done before,” said Lee Sicinski, Associate Vice President for Event Management at Notre Dame. “To bring a historic event like a Garth Brooks concert to the stadium, it just gives you goose bumps.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Erika Goldring