In 1988, Pink Floyd rocks the 'Shoe in stadium's first-ever concert

Linda Deitch
·2 min read
Pink Floyd performed at Ohio Stadium on May 28, 1988. It took stagehands six days to set up the stage and the sound/special effects equipment.
Pink Floyd performed at Ohio Stadium on May 28, 1988. It took stagehands six days to set up the stage and the sound/special effects equipment.

Ohio Stadium, the home of the Ohio State University football team, opened on the campus a century ago, in 1922. But it wasn’t until 1988 that it hosted a rock concert.

When Pink Floyd played there on May 28 that year, it made Columbus music history as both the first concert at the Horseshoe and the largest one ever held in the city (at that time). Nearly 64,000 people attended.

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Columbus did not yet have Nationwide Arena, Value City Arena or the Polaris Amphitheater, so top-name concerts were held at Veterans Memorial, Ohio Center’s Battelle Hall, Mershon Auditorium or St. John Arena — all much smaller venues. To see the big, big names, you had to drive to Cleveland or Cincinnati, or maybe to Pittsburgh or Indianapolis.

Wish You Were Here: The Dispatch reported that official T-shirts were $18.
Wish You Were Here: The Dispatch reported that official T-shirts were $18.

The price for a reserved field or stadium ticket to see Pink Floyd was $20. Ohio State University students, faculty and employees had first dibs, for three days, before sales opened to the public. The Columbus date was one of almost 200 shows during the band’s “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” world tour that had launched the previous year.

During the Ohio Stadium show, a pig actually flew above the concertgoers' heads. (Well, a laser-light show version of the band’s trademark pig did, during “Learning to Fly.”)

A small group of protesters from Jed Smock’s Campus Ministry USA preached to fans before the concert, urging them to repent for their “worship” of the band. Law enforcement officers monitored the situation, which did not escalate.

The band returned to the stadium in 1994, drawing more than 70,000 people.

The 1988 show became one of the most memorable outdoor concerts in Columbus history.
The 1988 show became one of the most memorable outdoor concerts in Columbus history.

Other acts that have performed at the Horseshoe: The Rolling Stones, U2, Genesis, Metallica, Billy Joel and Elton John, One Direction, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce and Jay-Z, among others. The Buckeye Country Superfest, with top-name stars such as George Strait and Keith Urban, has made four appearances since 2015, with a fifth one set for July.

With an official seating capacity of 102,780, Ohio Stadium is the largest-capacity venue in the state, by far.

Contributor Linda Deitch was a Dispatch librarian for 25 years.

Pink Floyd returned to the stadium six years later, on May 29, 1994, performing for an even bigger crowd of 70,000-plus.
Pink Floyd returned to the stadium six years later, on May 29, 1994, performing for an even bigger crowd of 70,000-plus.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Pink Floyd rocks Ohio Stadium in historic 1988 concert