Pictured Above: About 3,000 tickets were sold to the TobyMac concert at Amalie Arena on Friday.
Courtesy of Candice Lovelace
By Candice Lovelace
Concerts may seem like a thing of the past, but they are slowly making their way back to the area with some changes due to the pandemic.
I attended the TobyMac concert Friday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa – and I felt safe.
TobyMac, a Christian hip hop artist, was excited to be back in town. His energy filled the arena, allowing fans to get into it as much as they were before the pandemic.
For me, the concert was just as enjoyable as live music events pre-pandemic.
People were dancing and singing along and the artists seemed thrilled to be back on tour.
Upon arrival, fans were required to take a health survey before entering the arena, and signs reminded concert-goers to mask up.Tickets have gone digital, and were available on guest cellphones. The arena also required contactless payments for concessions.
Plexiglass barriers and floor markers were installed to minimize contact throughout the arena and at all concessions locations. While concession lines weren’t as winding as pre-pandemic events at the Amalie, a few people still chose to wait patiently in the socially-distanced queue.
Hand sanitizing stations have been installed throughout the arena. A sanitization team has been created to continuously clean high touch surfaces.
Tickets were sold in pod seating in groups of two, four, and six. Each pod was six feet apart from others. Seating that was not used for the concert was zip-tied shut.
When I got to my seat, I didn’t feel crowded. There were a few people several seats away from mine and the row behind me was empty.
The arena implemented $2 million in COVID-19 safety upgrades.
This was the first concert at Amalie Arena since the pandemic started. Only about 3,000 tickets were sold.
