BLACKSBURG — The lush grass of Worsham Field was stripped away. The sprinkler heads were removed. The field that is home to the Virginia Tech football team was barren and level.
Part of the crew that sets up the stage for Metallica’s concerts spent the early parts of Friday afternoon beginning the process of laying down the flooring that signaled the transformation of a football stadium into a temporary concert venue.
The group began the multi-day process that will culminate Wednesday with a long-awaited concert that features Metallica performing “Enter Sandman,” the song that has welcomed the Hokies onto the field for nearly a quarter of a century, in front of a sold-out crowd inside Lane Stadium.
Metallica is bringing the North American leg of its M72 World Tour to Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium on Wednesday. The show will see the band playing a setlist packed with fan favorites and, most importantly, “Enter Sandman.”
Matt Gentry photos, The Roanoke Times
“This is certainly a unique experience and a once-in-a-lifetime deal here at Lane Stadium,” Virginia Tech executive associate athletic director Brad Wurthman said late Friday morning, “and none of this would be possible without a ton of people who have helped make this thing come to life.”
Wurthman said “we are completely packed as of right now,” and estimated there will be “right around” 70,000 tickets sold for an event that will bring in more than a typical Virginia Tech football game.
“We’ve seen hotels as far out as an hour and a half from here that are sold out and have been sold out for months,” Wurthman said. “We hope this is one of those experiences that help make an economic impact here in the community for sure, the larger community as well.
“It’s as if we’re adding a seventh or an eighth home football game as well, in many ways is how we look at it. And we all know that that drives economic value here within the region. So having the chance to add one more of those in a year where maybe we didn’t expect to get one extra one, is a nice boost for everybody.”
The grass field at Wortham Field has been removed as workers prepare Lane Stadium for the Metallica M72 World Tour performance in Blacksburg on Wednesday.
Matt Gentry, The Roanoke Times
He also said the concert at Lane Stadium was the fastest-selling show on the M72 World Tour that features stops in major cities like Nashville, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta, Tampa, Houston and Denver before it moves overseas.
“It’s honestly one of those things that stops you in your tracks sometimes, when our group, which has been working on this, … but this doesn’t just happen. Right? We don’t just show up on Wednesday and there’s a concert,” Wurthman said. “There’s been so many conversations and so much work put in. And certainly, for the entire university and community, when that happens, when you look at where they’ve played internationally, and if you go down their line that we’ve played at these X number of cities across the globe, and now Blacksburg gets to show up on that list — that’s a pretty unique experience for everybody here.”
Virginia Tech is used to managing traffic flow for football games that bring in more than 66,000 fans on Saturdays in the fall. With more expected to be in town for Wednesday’s concert, Wurthman encouraged fans to arrive when the parking lots open at 1:30 p.m. The gates open at 4 p.m.
“It’s going to be chaos on campus on Wednesday. Plan accordingly. It’s going to be chaos,” Wurthman said. “… We encourage everybody, if you’re coming to campus with a reserved parking pass, meaning that you purchased the pass through us here at Virginia Tech, we encourage you to take the Southgate exit off of (U.S.) 460. And then traffic will be routed based on where the opportunity lies within the parking lots.
“So we’ll move everybody to the fastest moving line in partnership with the VT police, state troopers, that’s what everybody wanted to move with, so that’s what we felt good about that plan. We certainly ask for everybody’s patience with that process. There’s only so many ways to campus, so plan to be here as early as you can.”
There will be several events taking place in Blacksburg, Christiansburg and Salem on Tuesday and Wednesday before the concert begins at 6 p.m. Wednesday with opening acts Pantera and Suicidal Tendencies.
“There will be a few takeovers in a variety of places. It may not be as extensive as some of the other ones just because the other venues, a lot of their weekend tours have two stops, whereas we only have one,” Wurthman said.
There is an M72 Pop-Up Shop at Kent Square in Blacksburg on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A sneak peek of Metallica’s latest film project, “Metallica Saved My Life,” will be shown at Regal New River Valley in Christiansburg on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
There also will be a volunteer opportunity and a blood drive held before the concert. The blood drive is scheduled at The Inn at Virginia Tech/Skelton Conference Center on Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A volunteer opportunity is scheduled at Feeding Southwest Virginia in Salem on Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Brad Wurthman, Virginia Tech Athletics Executive Associate Athletic Director and External Operations Chief Revenue Officer, looks over the preparation of Lane Stadium in advance of Wednesday’s Metallica M72 World Tour concert in Blacksburg.
Matt Gentry, The Roanoke Times
“We always talk about we’re in the business of memorable experiences, and this is one of those days that will be something for 70,000 people, this is a one-time-only experience,” Wurthman said. “And on its core, 70,000 seems like a lot, but there’s a lot of people who are not going to be inside this venue, who aren’t going to see this experience. What we hope is that the entire town rallies around it. We want there to be parties in other places and we want every bar and restaurant full. That’s the hope for doing these things. It will be a night to remember for everybody across the board, and we sure hope people have a good time.”
Damien Sordelett (540) 981-3124