Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre is the best-attended outdoor venue in the United States and one of the top five busiest venues in the world following record-breaking ticket sales for the 2023 Red Rocks season.

Red Rocks is the top-ranked outdoor venue of the year and the fourth-ranked venue of any type or size, according to rankings released by Billboard Magazine. Other venues ranked higher on the year-end survey all are year-round facilities or have larger capacities.

Finishing at the top of the list is London’s O2 Arena with 2.4 million tickets sold, followed by Mexico City’s Foro Sol stadium with 2 million, and New York’s Madison Square Garden with 1.6 million.

Red Rocks will finish 2023 with over 1.65 million tickets sold including concerts, Film on the Rocks and fitness events such as Yoga on the Rocks, in a season that ran from April 1 to November 12. Billboard’s reporting period ends in October and reports a 1.4 million attendance for its year-end chart, missing several late-season concerts that Red Rocks reports.

Billboard ranks New York’s Radio City Music Hall as its top venue with capacities between 5,000 and 10,000 – based on a smaller attendance of 1.2 million but a gross of $122 million against its reported $103 million gross for Red Rocks.

“Once again, Red Rocks is grateful to the fans, artists and promoters that keep our venue at the top of these charts,” said venue manager Tad Bowman. “For a mid-sized venue to do those numbers, while being open just over seven months of the year, is a testament to the venue’s beauty and history, and to the appreciation and dedication of our fans. We look forward to seeing everyone again in just about 90 days.”

Red Rocks Amphitheatre is owned by the City and County of Denver and operated by the City’s Denver Arts & Venues agency. The venue opened in 1941 and will celebrate its 83rd season in 2024.

About Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Denver Arts & Venues
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a world-renowned venue situated in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, just outside of Denver, Colorado.  The venue opened in 1941 and was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of the Works Project Administration of the 1930s. The venue and remaining Civilian Conservation Corps camp have been designated a National Historic Landmark. The venue and surrounding Red Rocks Park are owned by the City and County of Denver. The venue’s capacity is 9,525 people. For more information, visit RedRocksOnline.com 

Denver Arts & Venues’ mission is to enrich Denver’s quality of life and economic vitality through the advancement of arts, culture and entertainment opportunities for all. Denver Arts & Venues, an agency of the City and County of Denver, operates Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex, Colorado Convention Center, Denver Coliseum and McNichols Civic Center Building, using proceeds from events at these venues – not government funding – to run and maintain these facilities and to provide access to art for all through free and low-cost community events, grants for artists and arts organizations, public art and art education. Using Good Times, For Good. For more information, visit ArtsAndVenues.com