Sold-out, multiple-night stands by the likes of One Direction, Taylor Swift and Depeche Mode have made 2013 an unprecedented year for concerts at Staples Center.
The 14-year-old venue in downtown Los Angeles, owned and operated by AEG, hosted 53 concerts this year, obliterating the previous record of 38 set in 2011, Staples execs revealed Sunday. More than 751,600 concert tickets were sold, raking in nearly $73.8 million.
Thirty-five of the shows were sellouts, and the other 18 saw more than 90 percent of seats purchased. Merchandise brought in another $7.6 million.
August was a big month for the 20,000-seat arena, with the red-hot boy band One Direction playing Staples on four consecutive nights Aug. 7-10, followed by 24-year-old superstar Swift coming in for shows on Aug. 19, 20, 23 and 24.
Depeche Mode, Beyonce, Muse and Pink each settled in for three nights, while Lady Gaga, The Rolling Stones — opening their 50 and Counting tour of North America — Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars each played a pair of shows. All the multiple-night runs were sellouts.
Other artists to play Staples in 2013 included The Who, Morrissey, Tiesto, Rihanna, Bon Jovi, Selena Gomez, Nine Inch Nails, Justin Timberlake, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Jay Z.
Staples accomplished the feat despite the fact the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings played a condensed, four-month regular-season slate of 24 home games starting Jan. 19 because of the NHL lockout. That took potential concert dates away from the building, which also serves as the home of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
Execs also reported 2013 concert sales of 468,000 beers, 156,000 margaritas, 156,000 sodas, 31,200 pretzels and 6,500 pounds of candy
Next year, Staples will face increased competition across town from the Forum, an older building with a rich concert history that is undergoing a $100 million renovation after being purchased by the Madison Square Co. in June 2012 for $23.5 million.
The Eagles will christen the new Forum on Jan. 15 with the first of six shows in an 11-day span. The band’s manager, veteran music mogul Irving Azoff, who also reps Christina Aguilera and Van Halen, among others, is in business with MSG through Azoff MSG Management, a venture unveiled in September.
