U2 stage taking shape in Raleigh
Carter-Finley Stadium on North Carolina State University's campus is the site of what may be the biggest concert of the year in the Triangle.
Posted — UpdatedU2 brings the 360° tour to Raleigh Saturday night, but stage construction has been going on all week.
The circular performance area sits on the field, surrounded by green prongs that recall claws towering 90 feet in the air. Crews took four days to build the steel structure. It takes two days to dismantle and load the structure out of the stadium.
As of Friday evening, tickets to the concert with opening act Muse were still available from Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
Jake Berry, tour production manager, said the show will go even if it rains. The only potential problem could be wind. If winds were to pick up to 35 mph or more, they would be forced to stop the show.
Video screens were built to withstand weather elements – a decision made after a previous U2 show scheduled at Carter-Finley more than a decade ago was canceled due to inclement weather.
Berry said the giant steel structure just barely fit into Carter-Finley. If the arena had been 2-feet smaller on each side, the band would have had to find another venue in Raleigh.
At other stops along the tour, the band has been criticized for damage to ground underneath the massive stage. They have pre-empted that charge in Raleigh.
Concert organizers Live Nation have put money in escrow to re-sod the field immediately after the show, an N.C. State spokesman said.
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