George Strait Sells Out Staples Center in Nine Minutes

The second leg of George Strait's farewell The Cowboy Rides Away Tour got off to a huge start on Friday (Sept. 27). The first date to go on sale, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, sold out all 17,178 tickets in nine minutes.

Strait announced his retirement from the road last September at a press conference in Nashville. The legendary singer revealed that he would split his farewell tour into two legs that would begin in 2013 and conclude in 2014.

He hit the road with Martina McBride last year, selling out some of the biggest venues in the country. The entertainer is not retiring from music, however; he still plans to release a new album every year, and recently signed an extension on his deal with MCA.

This year’s tour will features a variety of very special opening acts, including McBride, Jason Aldean, Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert, and Merle Haggard and Lee Ann Womack.

Tickets for the following dates will go on sale beginning at 10AM in the venue's respective local time zone on Friday, Oct. 4:

1/17/14 - CenturyLink Center - Omaha, Neb.
1/31/14 - Valley View Casino Center - San Diego, Calif.
2/7/14 - US Airways Center - Phoenix, Ariz.
2/14/14 - The Palace - Auburn Hills, Mich.
2/15/14 - Nationwide Arena - Columbus, Ohio
3/22/14 - Philips Arena - Atlanta, Ga.
4/5/14 - Pepsi Center - Denver, Colo.