Downtown's home of the Hawks has landed near the top of the national concert business once again. Billboard's Year In Touring 2025 report puts State Farm Arena fifth among the highest-grossing venues in the United States and seventh in the world, within the category of buildings that seat more than 15,000 people.
The rankings measure ticket revenue from shows staged between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025. Stadiums are left out of the comparison, so the arena is being measured against other indoor buildings of a similar scale rather than against stadiums.
The arena noted in a news release that this is the third year in a row it has placed inside Billboard's global top 10. Trey Feazell, who leads arena programming as executive vice president, called the recognition an incredible accomplishment for the building.
Most people know the building as the home court of the Atlanta Hawks, but the ranking reflects how busy it stays when the NBA team is not playing. The arena hosted nearly 100 events this year that were unrelated to the NBA, including 94 ticketed events that were not Hawks games. Among NBA arenas, only Madison Square Garden held more events.
The lineup leaned heavily on major touring acts. Paul McCartney, Shakira, Dua Lipa, Pearl Jam and Usher all brought shows downtown, along with Lil Baby. Several of the year's dates sold out.
Sports beyond the Hawks filled out the calendar too. The arena staged a UFC Fight Night card and a slate of college basketball games, and it was the site of a sold-out Atlanta Dream home opener against the Indiana Fever. The Dream's move into the building was something downtownATL covered when it was first announced.
The schedule did not slow down heading into the holidays. The arena's final weeks of 2025 included 96.1 The Beat's Jingle Ball, with Jermaine Dupri, Lil' Jon and Mariah The Scientist among the performers, followed by the CBS Sports Classic and a two-night stand from hip-hop artist Rod Wave on Dec. 28 and 29.
The Hawks also had a full run of home dates to finish the calendar year: the Spurs on Dec. 19, two meetings with the Bulls on Dec. 21 and Dec. 23, the Heat on Dec. 26, the Knicks on Dec. 27 and the Timberwolves on Dec. 31.
For downtown, the ranking is a useful measure of how many people the arena draws into the neighborhood across a full year. With close to 100 non-NBA events stacked on top of a Hawks season, the building rarely sits dark for long.
Original reporting by Kristal Dixon for Axios Atlanta.