Early lessons from Shakira show. Will Fresno State host another stadium concert?

Work crews landed at Valley Children’s Stadium this week to begin the set-up for Shakira’s massive Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran concert tour.

It’s a logistical undertaking.

There is the coordination of street closures and meetings with the state fire marshal’s office, not to mention the scheduling of union labor and payroll. “We’re experts in putting on football games,” Fresno State’s Athletics Director Garrett Klassy told The Fresno Bee in an interview Tuesday in advance of Thursday night’s concert.

“The stadium show is a different kind of beast,” he said.

“It’s been eye-opening.”

The concert, which was announced in late June as a late addition to the Colombian pop singer’s North American tour, has become a test case for future endeavors at a time when the university is looking hard at its future endeavors.

Shakira is a global phenomenon whose success goes back decades. Well before her single “Hips Don’t Lie” was released in 2005, she was among a roster of Latin artists signed and pushed by Sony Records — a list that included Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony and a pre-J Lo Jennifer Lopez.

Her latest tour is proving to be a major draw, especially in Mexico, where she has sold 1 million tickets. It has already grossed $130 million as of June, according to Billboard Magazine.

Fresno is Shakira’s last stop before heading across the border.

Is Fresno headed toward a sell-out?

This is first time the football stadium has hosted live music in its four decades, and a successful showing Thursday would go a long way to prove the city’s appetite for this kind of entertainment and help the university sell the idea of a fully functioning multi-purpose stadium facility.

Already, it is a kind of success, Klassy said.

As of Tuesday, some 20,000 tickets had been accounted for, with a capacity crowd of just under 30,000.

“We’re moving quite a few every single day. We’re happy.”

Ticket sales have picked up over the past few days, as prices dropped for seats all across the stadium due to dynamic pricing set by the promoter and ticketing service. As of Wednesday, the least expensive tickets were listed for $62.50 on Ticketmaster.com. Floor seats were available for $162.80. The university has also been offering deals in conjunction with its football season tickets.

More entertainment for the Central San Joaquin Valley

From the very announcement of the show, Klassy has said the goal was to use the stadium as a means of bringing more entertainment to Fresno. Klassy spent much of his career working on the East Coast, where you can find a professional or college-level stadium by driving two hours in just about any direction.

“That doesn’t happen on the West Coast,” he said.

And that puts Fresno in a unique position, literally.

“At the end of the day, Fresno State is a premier entertainment destination. We’re going to get premier interest,” Klassy said.

“We’re going to make sure we’re the best partners possible.”

Of course, the question remains as to whether we will see more concert announcements coming soon. Conversations have been happening, Klassy said, with Live Nation and other local and national promoters. There’s nothing official on the books, but the Shakira concert came together within the matter of a week or two — and in Klassy’s experience, things move quickly.

“These things come fast and furious.”