MÖTLEY CRÜE’s NIKKI SIXX On Decision To Postpone ‘Stadium Tour’: ‘We Didn’t Want To Expose Our Fans To Possibly Getting COVID’

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Nikki Sixx spoke to USA Today about MÖTLEY CRÜE's "The Stadium Tour" with DEF LEPPARD which was originally scheduled to take place last summer but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus crisis. Asked if he thinks the trek will finally take place next year, the bassist said: "Yes, I do. We didn't want to go out this past summer because we didn't want to expose our fans to possibly getting COVID and 80,000 people all with their mouths open singing 'Shout At The Devil' doesn't sound like we would be doing the right thing for our fans and our crew. Do I believe COVID will still be here next year? Yes. But we'll have to do the best that we can do. The bigger question is, what does '23 look like? Can we go to Europe or South America? Right now our eyes are on the tour starting in June, band rehearsals in May and all the set design starting months before that. I start physically training the first week of December. At 62, it's a little different than 22." Earlier this month, Nikki defended his band's decision to once again postpone "The Stadium Tour", telling Yahoo! Entertainment: "On a business level, you can't get COVID insurance. So if you've got a big show — MÖTLEY, DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT — that's generating a lot of… If that show goes down because somebody whatever, you just lose money, and you can only lose so many shows and then you're basically on tour for free. So we chose to stay back, waiting to see how AEGs and Live Nations and how other bands were gonna handle it. And I think we made the right decision." This past July, Sixx told Marci Wiser of the 95.5 KLOS radio station that MÖTLEY CRÜE "really did wanna go" on the road "this year. It's a little scary to go out there and have the tour maybe get canceled half way," he said. "And I know a lot of bands are out there and they're testing the water and it looks really positive; I'm super excited. "We have 30-some stadiums in America [booked for the tour]," he continued. "And we'll see. Maybe we might even drag it to Europe, South America, Japan — we don't know yet. Right now it's a little far off. But us and DEF LEPPARD are super close; that's great. And we'll just see what version of 'The Stadium Tour' might fit for other countries, if we decide to go. Maybe it'll be the same lineup. I know people are super stoked for the lineup. It's a good outdoor fun party evening." As of January 30, 2020, "The Stadium Tour" had already grossed $130 million from one million tickets sold, plus another $5 million worth of VIP seats, according to Billboard. Tickets ranged from $150 to $400, not counting some varied pricing that reflected demand as part of "dynamic pricing." When it happens, "The Stadium Tour" will mark the CRÜE's first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.