Hip hop artist B.o.B. will perform at the Stroh Center on Aug. 31

The show is part of the Office of Campus Activities’ effort to “beef up” Labor Day weekend programming, said Jodi Webb, dean of students.

After the Office of Campus Activities decided to include a concert in the programming, it had to find an artist who was both appealing and available, Webb said.

“It’s always hard to find the right person or group to bring to campus,” because not everyone prefers the same genre, Webb said.

The Office of Campus Activities collected feedback from students at orientation over the summer and also looked back at previously considered artists. Students showed interest in B.o.B. and he had been considered before, but scheduling issues prevented a concert from working out.

B.o.B. was booked for $60,000, said Chris Bullins, associate dean of students.

Some of that cost will be recouped in ticket sales, and the University will subsidize the rest, Bullins said.

Tickets went on sale Aug. 24, a week before the show, and more than 900 were sold that day.

Sales would have started earlier, Webb said, but the Office of Campus Activities didn’t want to start selling tickets until the majority of students were back in Bowling Green.

As of Thursday afternoon, about 1,600 tickets had been sold, according to an email from Bullins. Around 3,000 tickets were still available at that time.

Webb hopes the show sells out, but said it’s difficult to say whether it will. Florida Georgia Line and Gabriel Iglesias sold out last year, she said.

The Information Center in the Union will sell tickets through Aug. 30. On the day of the show, the Stroh Center box office will open at 2 p.m. if tickets are still available.

The general public will be able to buy tickets for $25 at that time. No tickets are specifically set aside for the general public, Webb said.

“We really are doing this for the students,” Webb said. “It’s convenient when [performers are] at the Stroh and we keep ticket prices low.”

Stroh Center General Manager Ben Spence also said the location is convenient for students.

“For people on campus it’s right in their backyard,” he said.

Accessible parking was another Stroh Center benefit Spence mentioned.

Spence said that there are no bad seats in the Stroh Center.

Opening for B.o.B. will be the Norwegian singing/songwriting duo Nico and Vinz.

“We’re excited to have them in the mix,” Webb said.