U2 announces first North American dates of colossal 360° World Tour

Worldwide economic collapse be damned, U2 today unveiled the first set of dates for its mammoth U2 360° World Tour — the band’s first all-stadium trek since, er, that lemon of a tour, PopMart, more than a decade ago.

According to the band, “Longtime U2 show director Willie Williams has worked again with architect Mark Fisher (ZooTV, PopMart, Elevation and Vertigo), to create an innovative 360˚ design which affords an unobstructed view for the audience.”

The two-year tour — which was ever-so-briefly given the dreadfully Bonoesque title “Kiss the Future” — opens June 30 in Barcelona, Spain, hitting 14 cities across Europe before wrapping the leg Aug. 22 in Cardiff, England.

Bono and Co. then cross the pond to play North American dates in September and October, beginning with a Sept. 12 concert at Soldier Field in Chicago. (The band only has announced four of the North American dates so far; see below for details.)

According to a lengthy feature on Billboard.com, the band will play 40-45 shows this year in Europe and North America, followed by more American shows in June and July 2010, more European concerts in August and September 2010 — and possibly some South American dates in late 2010.

The band, perhaps aware that this isn’t the best time to try shilling pricey concert tickets, also is pricing 10,000 seats at every show at $30, according to Billboard.  Field-level tickets will be $55, with other price points being $90-$95 and $250.

North American on-sales begin in late March and early April.

Confirmed U2 360° North American dates:

Sept. 12: Soldier Field, Chicago, Ill.
Sept. 16: Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Sept. 20: Gilette Stadium, Boston, Mass.
Sept, 24: Giants Stadium, New York, NY

Confirmed U2 360° North American cities:

Atlanta, Ga.
Charlottesville, Va.
Dallas, Texas
Houston, Texas
Las Vegas, Nev.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Norman, Okla.
Phoenix, Ariz.
Tampa, Fla.
Washington, D.C.
Vancouver, B.C.