ONLINE ONLY Madonna rumored to play M&T Bank Stadium next year
If confirmed, it would be the first concert at the stadium since U2's blockbuster show in June.
The singer, whose tours are highly anticipated because she holds the record of the highest-grossing tour by a solo artist, has been widely rumored to go on tour next year. Earlier this month, rumors also surfaced that she might play at the Super Bowl.
Madonna's reps have not confirmed any of the rumors. Neither M&T Bank Stadium nor Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, have responded to requests for comment.
Update: Liz Rosenberg declined to confirm Madonna is going on tour next year. She said the posted tour schedule is "a fake."
On Monday, a fan site posted an alleged early tour itinerary that has Madonna kicking off her tour in New Zealand March 31, just a month after the Super Bowl.
The singer is planning only on visiting stadiums on the American leg of the still-unnamed tour, and M&T Bank Stadium has been scheduled for July 15, according to the schedule.
Tour reports on fan sites are not to be quickly dismissed; a U2 fansite was first to report of the band's appearance at M&T Bank Stadium in June.
An appearance at M&T would also make sense for Madonna's concert promoter, Live Nation, because the company was also responsible for bringing U2's 360 tour to Baltimore.
M&T Bank Stadium does not have any events scheduled for July 15, according to its calendar. A monster truck event has been scheduled for sometime in July. According to the fansite, the tour will be announced at a press conference October 31.
The concert would be mean a financial windfall for M&T. As most artists flock to arenas and mid-size clubs, M&T, like other stadiums, has struggled to attract concert headliners. There are also fewer of artists who can command stadium audiences.
Madonna, like U2, is one of a handful of reliable overperformers on the road; her last tour, "Sticky and Sweet," topped the record for highest-grossing tour by a solo artist that she'd already set with the tour before that. Her strength in live entertainment is in large part why Live Nation signed her to a $100-million, so-called 360-deal that covers recording and touring.
Next year, she'll be releasing her 12th studio album. Madonna has played Philadelphia and Washington when she's performed in the region, but even her last appearance in Washington was seven years ago.
She has never performed in Baltimor! e; her l ast appearance in Maryland was at Merriweather Post Pavilion in 1985, when she had just released "Like a Virgin."