Virginia Tech shares how they landed a Metallica concert at Lane Stadium

BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) — The Metallica song Enter Sandman and Virginia Tech football have gone hand-in-hand for nearly a quarter of a century, and fans of both will have the chance to see the legendary band perform at Lane Stadium next year.

Metallica will perform at Lane Stadium May 7, 2025. Since Monday, presale tickets have been on sale and will continue through Thursday. On Friday, tickets go on sale to the general public.

The work to get Metallica to Lane Stadium has been more than a decade-long process. But once the Virginia Tech administration got the word the band was coming to perform, there was a buzz and excitement, as their goal to get them to Blacksburg came to fruition.

“For them to come here, it’ll obviously be a really big day for Virginia Tech, for Blacksburg, southwest Virginia, [add] economic impact to all of that,” said Virginia Tech Director of Athletics Whit Babcock. “When we started two years ago, [Executive Associate Athletic Director/External Affairs and Advancement] was visiting with them about two things — a concert, and then we had also approached them about playing one song, before [a] game, right. Whatever we could get, we would love to get, and of course, we asked for both.

“They did have a little bit of interest in the one game, but after looking at that, Metallica felt like the operations of the production was just too big to come in for one song, and they said, ‘Hey, by the way, the first time we play it there, we wanted to be a big show so how about a concert?”

“You have to shoot for the moon sometimes, right, and try it and see what happens,” Wurthman said.

He noted that there were many who believed they could get it done, and they took a shot, working with the band, their representation and Live Nation.

“Everybody has been so incredible from the beginning on trying to find a way to make this work,” Wurthman said. “It’s not as easy as people think. This isn’t, we just show up and here’s a band that we booked on a moments notice and they come. This is part of a world tour, where they’ve been everywhere from Finland to Chicago … so you have to find options that kind of work out well for you.”

A limited number of tickets have been specially-priced for current Virginia Tech students. These tickets will be general admission seats in the north endzone of Lane Stadium. Additional tickets with specific seat locations will be available for students in sections 501, 502, 509 and 510 of the upper south endzone. There is a limit of two tickets per student.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com.