Are "seating pods" going to be the wave of the future for attending concerts?

YourDirtisMyfood

Looks like one wrestling company will be selling tickets to the public soon to try this out during the pandemic.  Will concerts soon follow?  From the article:

AEW is looking to take another step toward pandemic normalcy, announcing Thursday that they will begin selling tickets to their live shows starting with next Thursday's Dynamite.

Dynamite will continue to be held at Daily's Place in Jacksonville, Florida, at 10-15% capacity of the venue. The venue's capacity is listed at 5500, putting that number at an estimated 550-825 range.

The August 27th kickoff to this new plan will be limited to 10% capacity and will go on sale Friday on both Ticketmaster and AEWTix.com. If things go as planned, they will expand to 15% for future shows. It's assumed that with this move, Dynamite will be returning to weekly live programming instead of a live/taped alternating schedule.

To be in compliance with federal and state guidelines, tickets will be physically distanced and sold in "seating pods" that will available in groups of two, three, four, and six around the venue.

Fans will be required to wear face coverings that cover the nose and mouth and must distance from those not in their pod. Temperatures will be scanned and fans who are showing any COVID-19 symptoms or have had close contact with someone that has are asked to not attend. Tickets will be mobile only and any merchandise, food, and drink purchases will be done without cash.

The company has been giving away tickets to an estimated 100-150 fans through arena partners in recent weeks, but this will be the first time they have sold tickets to fans since the pandemic hit in March. 

https://www.f4wonline.com/aew-news/aew-announces-plan-sell-tickets-future-live-shows-317996

KN219077

I’d be more in favor of small venues with distancing and paid streaming so people can couch tour. Phish is ahead of the curve on the tech to do this and PJ should adopt it quickly

Lost In Ohio

Say goodbye to the pit. Say hello to overzealous ushers who make everyone show their ticket every time, including if you're already at your seat. If it looks like people are crowding in together to be "3 to 2 seats" then you'll be forced to show tickets. Say hello to an exponential increase in ticket demand.

People who think they'll be able to get away with smoking at their seats...forget about it. Masks absolutely required at all times unless eating or drinking.

Is it really worth it?

We also have to remember that at least one band member is more at-risk than many in the general populace.

RS65573

I disagree on the demand. I wouldnt go to this if it were free.

Zod

I'm not sure this would work for events that would regularly have high attendance.    Pearl Jam can easily sell out arenas that hold 16 to 20,000 people.   In some markets they can sell out 50,000 seat Stadiums.

What's it going to look like if they can only sell 10 to 15% of a venue?   That's 2000 to 3000 people in an arena, or  5000 to 7500 in a Stadium.   Is that even enough to cover the venue rental, staffing, security, road crew etc...

I'm not confident that the economics work to be able to hold events in large venues with a small number of fans.    

Plus how hard would the tickets be to get.  Sure some people wouldn't go but it's only a few thousand tickets, those are going to be hot tickets.

All these innovative ideas seem to focus around artists or events that would ordinarily draw smaller crowds.   I think it's a whole other level for big sporting events or big venue concerts (at least sporting events get TV revenue).

I still think Coronavirus is going to have be (mostly) in the rearview before we see big acts do anything significant.