It's less than a month until McDonald Jones Stadium becomes the scene of a major concert for the first time in more than three decades - Sir Elton John's first (and final) shows in Newcastle.
Promoter and Australian music industry pioneer Michael Chugg was in the city on Tuesday to talk about the Farewell Yellow Brick Road The Final Tour performances on January 8 and 10, as Venues NSW prepared to welcome the world-class artist to the stadium.
The last concert at the football ground was the earthquake relief benefit 32 years ago featuring Midnight Oil, The Angels and Crowded House - fittingly, Chugg was also the promoter of that event.
"The stadium is a classy piece of work these days," he told the Newcastle Herald.
"Back then, this was just a regional rugby ground. Nothing like it is now."
Chugg said there were about 11,000 people from regional NSW expected at the shows, about 32,000 from outside the Newcastle local government area and 3000 from interstate.
"Those three or four days are bringing $10 million into the local economy, so it's quite a big event," he said.
"And [Sir Elton] is happy because he's got a couple more shows."
It will be a huge production - Chugg said many people would not have seen anything like it - requiring 45 semi-trailers full of equipment, 700 square metres of LED screens and a 66 metre-wide stage.
The Sunday evening in Newcastle will be the first show of Sir Elton's final Australia and New Zealand tour - and his first since playing at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in November.
"It's an amazing show," Chugg said. "Every song's a hit. He plays for not quite three hours. For me, he's one of the two or three great acts."
Free shuttle buses for ticket holders will circulate through Glendale, Wallsend, Mayfield, Charlestown, Belmont and the CBD from 3pm on both concert days. The stadium carpark will be out of action but a park and ride service will run from the showground.
Chugg said Sir Elton would take to the stage at 7pm and urged people to arrive early - around 5pm if possible to avoid a rush close to showtime.
Venues NSW group general manager of events and partnerships Stephen Saunders said he was "fairly confident" the shows would be the "first of many" for the stadium.
He said a stage would be set up at the southern end of the ground and a protective flooring would be placed on the playing surface.
"It's really something that will need to be seen to be believed," he said. "It'll be a lot different to coming to a Knights or Jets game."
