ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – Mayo Civic Center premiered 2024’s highest-grossing stand-up comic at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nate Bargatze. Med City fans buzzed with excitement as the show could mark the start of something bigger for local entertainment.
Experience Rochester Marketing and Communication VP Bill Von Bank said it was the second-largest single-day entertainment event ever in civic center history, behind Bon Jovi’s concert in 1987.
“Nate is probably the biggest comic on the planet right now. He just hosted the Emmys this past Sunday,” Von Bank said.
Bargatze’s visit to the Med City was his third stop in Minnesota on his “Big Dumb Eyes World Tour.”
“He’s selling out everywhere he goes. He’s been in Duluth. He’s been in St. Paul. So, our turn in Rochester tonight, and it is a sellout crowd,” Von Bank stated.
Von Bank mentioned A-list acts like Bargatze’s bring value to the entire community.
“Shows, conventions, anything in Mayo Civic Center usually spills out into the community,” Von Bank said. “It doesn’t just benefit Mayo Civic Center. We’re happy to host, but the community benefits with people coming. Some might stay in hotels overnight because of the show, go out for dinner or have a cocktail before or after the show, maybe even come a little bit early and do a little shopping. So the money spreads out in the community and it’s a great benefit to have shows like this.”
The sellout show kicked off Rochester’s fall season full of live entertainment at the Mayo Civic Center. One of the 6,000-plus fans with a ticket, Jen Goldberg of Rochester, was excited not just for the laughs, but was also pleased to see Rochester bringing Broadway-caliber entertainment into town.
“I feel incredibly blessed and lucky to be going to see Nate Bargatze tonight,” Goldberg said.
Goldberg said she bought her ticket in advance last spring for about $200.
“I love comedy shows, and not too many come to little ‘ole Rochester here,” Goldberg said. “I’ve seen a few of his stand-ups and got tickets to the show a while ago.”
As a New Jersey native, Goldberg said shows like these are something Rochester could use a lot more of.
“Here in Rochester, there isn’t that much to do. So, I think that this could be a big thing to help us have a little more entertainment, especially on the weekend,” Goldberg said
For those craving more big-name entertainment, Bargatze’s sellout show is a promising sign that the spotlight has finally shifted the Med City’s way.
Other top-tier live entertainment scheduled in Rochester this fall includes Rob Schneider on Sept. 27, as well as Dustin Lynch and Scotty McCreery on Nov. 8.
Click here for Mayo Civic Center’s fall schedule, dates, and tickets.
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