Paul McCartney plays to a capacity crowd at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton back in 2016. He’s returning to reopen the renovated TD Coliseum in November.
Paul McCartney plays to a capacity crowd at First Ontario Centre in Hamilton back in 2016. He’s returning to reopen the renovated TD Coliseum in November.
Paul McCartney will be the first to give a test drive.
The former Beatle will officially reopen the downtown facility on Nov. 21 as part of his Got Back tour.聽
鈥淥pening night deserves something extraordinary, and it doesn鈥檛 get any better than Paul McCartney,鈥 said Nick DeLuco, the arena鈥檚 general manager. 鈥淭his show marks the beginning of a bold new chapter for TD Coliseum and speaks volumes about the calibre of events we will bring to the region. We鈥檙e excited for the future in Hamilton.鈥
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
It鈥檚 the only southern Ontario stop on his Got Back tour and his first stop in Canada since playing Vancouver in 2019. Montreal is the only other Canadian stop listed on this tour.
go on sale July 18 at 10 a.m. Prices have not yet been announced.
McCartney was in 2016 as part of his One on One tour when he played a 39-song, three-hour set that included a special appearance by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders pipe band. It was his only other Hamilton show.
In addition to announcing the concert, arena operator Oak View Group pointed out that GO train service from West Harbour Station to Union Station will be running after the event. This is significant because it aligns with what OVG has long been saying 鈥 that TD Coliseum will be seen as a secondary major venue for the Greater 色色啦 Area market.
OVG has previously announced concerts by Andrea Bocelli (Dec. 9) and Brad Paisley (Dec. 12).聽
Those three artists play three disparate styles of music that will demonstrate to concert-goers whether all the changes have truly improved the acoustics in the building. That’s been a major point of emphasis from OVG throughout the $280-million construction project as TD Coliseum has been repositioned as a concert hall, first, and a sports arena, second.
The 2026 Juno Awards are also scheduled to be held at the coliseum in March.
This will be the second opening night for the nearly four-decade-old building. It had its first grand opening on Nov. 30, 1985, when it was christened as Copps Coliseum.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
Terry Cooke was a young Ward 1 councillor back then. The celebration was his first event as an elected official. He doesn’t remember all the details but doesn’t recall it being a concert. More of a somewhat low-key civic ribbon cutting.
So, not as splashy as Paul McCartney?
鈥淒efinitely not,鈥 he says.聽
Hamilton will be the second-last stop on this tour for McCartney after shows in places ranging from Palm Desert, Calif., to New Orleans, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and finally Chicago.
Scott Radley is a columnist with The Hamilton Spectator focusing
on sports and politics. Reach him at sradley@thespec.com.
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation