Kelowna has indoor capacity fit for large scale shows

• Many artists wouldn’t come here unless full indoor capacity
• Dierks Bentley tickets sold out in moments
• 2022 could be exciting year for concerts

At the end of last month, Interior Health made the long awaited announcement that indoor shows are permitted to have full capacity again. And that has flung open the doors for big time names to bring their concerts to town.

Before, when indoor crowds were limited to just 50 per cent, it wasn’t fiscally viable for several artists to come to Kelowna to only perform for half a potential audience.

“To be honest that’s been the case. It’s like, ‘well we’ll look at Kelowna when things open up again,” George Fadel, senior marketing director for GSL Holdings told Kelowna10. “There are certain artists who have that minimum.”

GSL Holdings is the company that owns and operates Prospera Place. With last month’s announcement they’re eagerly awaiting the busy concert season next year could offer.

Dierks Bentley was the first major concert announcement coming to Kelowna since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He’ll be performing at Prospera Place on his ‘Beers on us’ tour on Jan. 28, 2022.

Initially that announcement was made when capacity was at half. As Fadel explained, if that didn’t change, it could have affected the show itself and whether it had to be postponed.

“There’s always that risk. So that’s when we work very closely with the artist and the promoter behind the artist to ensure what they are looking for,” Fadel said.

“But we had very high hopes; thought that things would be looking good by January. We are thrilled and thankful that’s it's not only at half capacity because there’s definitely an appetite for people wanting to see this show.”

Fadel told Kelowna10 when the tickets went on sale for Dierks Bentley’s show they sold out in five minutes for every seat in the show.

Prospera is optimistic 2022 will be an exciting year for concerts. Several 'holds' are in place, meaning promoters are keeping their place in Prospera’s schedule while negotiations are underway.

Many of the holds were in place prior to Interior Health’s announcement, indicating a lot of promoters were closely watching Kelowna for when capacity restrictions would be lifted.

“There’s a lot of eagerness [for artists] to be coming back to our city as well,” Fadel said.

“I think a lot of those holds are going to turn into bookings which is very exciting for us, our staff, and the region.”