UPDATE, JUNE 6: U2 has now formally announced new dates in North & South America. Please see our coverage of that announcement for official information. This original story below remains intact and unedited.
-end of update-
Although nothing's confirmed yet, @U2 has been tipped by a reliable source that U2 and Live Nation will be extending The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 with additional dates in September and October across the Americas.
We've seen what we believe is one of a handful of tour schedules being considered. The itinerary includes nine new stadium shows in the U.S., all in cities that the band is not playing now on the first leg of the tour. After that, it has the band heading south to Mexico City for a pair of shows and then to South America for shows in four countries.
Here's a look at the itinerary we've seen:
September 3 - Detroit at Ford Field
September 5 - Buffalo at New Era Field
September 8 - Minneapolis at US Bank Stadium
September 10 - Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium
September 12 - Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium
September 14 - New Orleans at Mercedes Benz Superdome
September 16 - St. Louis at Dome at America's Center
September 18 - Atlanta at Georgia State Stadium
September 22 - San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium
October 3 & 4 - Mexico City at TBD (either Foro Sol or Azteca)
October 7 - Bogota, Colombia at Estadio El Campin
October 10 & 11 - Buenos Aires, Argentina at La Plata
October 14 - Santiago, Chile at Estadio Nacional
October 19, 21 & 22 - Sao Paulo, Brazil at Morumbi Stadium
I'll emphasize again that this is unconfirmed and subject to change and/or be wrong. But it comes from a reliable source that has tipped us correctly in the past, most recently on U2's plans to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live last month. That said, we strongly encourage you NOT to make any travel plans until an official announcement is made.
Speaking of which, we've no idea when these dates might be announced. One person on Interference posted on Friday and Saturday about new U.S. shows, saying that an announcement will happen this coming Tuesday.
The routing above has U2 playing in stadiums just as the NFL season begins in the U.S. We've checked the cities and stadiums listed above, and there are no conflicts with the NFL schedule. The closest issue is in Minneapolis, where the Vikings have a home game three days after U2 would be playing -- but that's plenty of time to get the stage out and give the stadium back to the team. The Atlanta date is interesting: The Falcons have a home game that weekend at their new Mercedes Benz Stadium, which could explain why the band would instead play Georgia State Stadium. For those who don't know, that's the stadium that hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics and then became Turner Field, home of baseball's Atlanta Braves. It's now being remodeled for Georgia State's college football team and is due to be ready for their first home game on August 31.
After the new U.S. shows, the itinerary has U2 playing two shows in Mexico City -- either at Foro Sol Stadium or Azteca Stadium. And then it's on to South America for seven shows in four countries -- including what would be U2's first time performing in Colombia. The dates in Sao Paulo have been circulating for a couple months now and even appeared already on stadium web sites there.
There are also rumors of U2 touring Australia and New Zealand in the new year, but we've heard nothing about that one way or another.
Again, all of this is unconfirmed and just rumors for now. There's a lot we don't know -- i.e., when an announcement might happen; if the list above is complete; if more cities would be added; if and how fan club tickets might be sold; and so forth.
The band has also promised to release its new album, Songs Of Experience, in 2017. The impact of a Joshua Tree Tour 2017 extension on that plan is anyone's guess. It could mean yet another delay. Or, if the 2017 tour actually does end in October, it might clear the way for a November/December album release and perhaps even some promotional appearances, too. Stay tuned....
[Ed. note: Article has been corrected to reflect the name of the new Atlanta Falcons' stadium.]
