Actually, DA in Europe was not in arenas in most countries but in small or medium-sized venues (say 1,000/3,000 people and it wasn't sold-out in many countries.). He did just about the same circuit as Richie touring to support his solo albums... with the same (lack of huge) success.

Solo acts don't attract big crowds as a rule, every record company and tour promoter know that. That's why they prefer to aim at smaller venues that will sell out or close to and keep the option of adding dates later in case there's a big ticket demand. Business is business!


PS: too bad Jon isn't touring at the moment: he could have offered the job to The Edge since U2 will be on a hiatus for a very long time!
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...#ixzz3JXY7UZAc