Metallica is bringing its M72 World Tour to El Paso, with a Sun Bowl Stadium show set for May 18, 2027, that also features rap-rock act Limp Bizkit and Swedish metal band Avatar as special guests. Tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 25, at 10 a.m. local time.
The announcement, first reported by KFOX, confirms the show is part of the 2027 leg of Metallica's global M72 World Tour. The station's report does not detail ticket prices, presale windows or purchase limits, and no separate announcement from Metallica, UTEP or the venue itself has surfaced beyond that account.
Frontman James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo last brought the band through the region when Metallica performed at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, on Nov. 12, 2023, per the same account. El Paso hasn't seen Metallica on a marquee bill since the band toured with Guns N' Roses in 1992, a stop confirmed by cbs4local.com, which also reported that Guns N' Roses returned to the Sun Bowl on its own in September 2017.
A Stadium Built for Football, Now a Concert Draw
Sun Bowl Stadium is home to the UTEP Miners football team, sitting at 151 Glory Road, according to the University of Texas at El Paso. The stadium opened on Sept. 21, 1963, as the home of the Texas Western Miners football team, as reported by El Paso Matters.
Seating figures for the stadium vary depending on the source. UTEP's own venue page lists 46,098 seats, including 120 wheelchair spaces, four indoor suites and 26 outdoor loge boxes. El Paso Matters, meanwhile, reports the capacity was reduced to about 46,000 after club seats and loge boxes were added in 2020. Wikipedia lists a nominal seating capacity of 51,500 at the stadium's 1963 opening, while noting that UTEP currently lists the capacity as 45,971.
Big Acts Have Already Proven the Sun Bowl Can Handle It
Whatever the exact number, the Sun Bowl has recently shown it can pack in a crowd. Coldplay attracted nearly 90,000 spectators and generated roughly $35 million for El Paso during a two-night stay, per El Paso Matters, becoming the first act to hold two concerts at the stadium during a single tour and the first to sell out the venue in advance, according to Wikipedia. Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour stop landed on June 13 and 14, 2025.
BTS topped that just under a year later, performing two sold-out concerts on May 2 and 3, 2026, as part of the group's Arirang World Tour and drawing approximately 97,700 attendees — the largest concert event in the stadium's history, Wikipedia notes. The Sun Bowl's concert résumé since the 1990s also includes The Rolling Stones, U2, Pink Floyd, Ricky Martin, NSYNC and One Direction, alongside Guns N' Roses.
A Bigger Renovation Push Still in Limbo
The concert boom has coincided with UTEP's push for a major stadium overhaul. The university estimated the total cost of proposed Sun Bowl upgrades at $196 million, according to El Paso Matters, with the so-called Sun Bowl Uplift renovation covering electrical system upgrades, improved access for large production trucks and a drivable field cover system, among other improvements to restrooms, concessions and food service. The dossier's coverage does not resolve how that funding effort has fared beyond the reporting already cited, so no further conclusion is drawn here about its status.
For now, the spotlight is on Metallica's return to the region and a lineup pairing thrash metal royalty with Limp Bizkit and Avatar for a single night at the Sun Bowl. Fans hoping to attend will need to be ready when tickets open Friday, Sept. 25, at 10 a.m. local time.
