U2 rents Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum for a month of rehearsals

There are reports that Irish band U2 are in Vancouver to practice for their upcoming worldwide iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour set to begin later this spring.

According to The Province, the Pacific Coliseum at the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver’s Eastside is being used as the rehearsal venue.

There are more than a dozen semi-trailers, belonging to a company U2 is known to work with, parked around the building. In addition, the venue is surrounded by roaming security personnel and all windows and door cracks have been sealed with dark fabric.

CTV News reports the band has booked the arena for a whole month to prepare for the six-month-long tour spanning 70 dates and 20 cities in North America and Europe.

The first concerts of the tour will be held at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena, with back-to-back performances on May 14 and 15. Based on the PNE’s online calendar, there are no public events scheduled for the Pacific Coliseum until Cirque du Soleil’s Vancouver shows, beginning May 20.

U2 has faced uncertainty and instability over the past year. Their newest album performed poorly and they faced a major public relations gaffe in October 2014 when Apple customers received the album for free on their iTunes.

Bono was severely injured in a bike accident the following month, to the extent that he feared he may never play guitar again.

He broke his arm in six locations and fractured his eye socket, hand and shoulder blade. He had extensive surgeries to repair the damage and install a titanium elbow.

Since the accident, Bono has been working hard to recover in time for the band’s first stop in Vancouver.

Panorama of Pacific Coliseum during the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Image: Beach650 via Flickr