Legendary rock band The Who will play Copps Coliseum Oct. 22 -- the only Canadian date on their fall U.S. tour.

"This is a huge coup for us," said Duncan Gillespie, chief executive officer of Hamilton Entertainment and Convention Facilities (HECFI), which runs Copps Coliseum.

Mr. Gillespie said that a representative from the events company Live Nation called HECFI to say The Who wanted a date in Hamilton. Mr. Gillespie said HECFI was in.

Tickets will go on sale July 25 for $69.50, $99.50 and $147.50. Copps will be set up to accommodate 12,000 people for the concert, said Mr. Gillespie. "I expect it to sell out in a flash," he said.

Mr. Gillespie says he knows he has a hot ticket on his hands when close friends -- and people he barely knows -- start calling him to ask for a seat.

"I'm getting inundated from people," he said. "That is usually a good sign."

The Hamilton concert date will fit nicely into The Who's Maximum R&B concert tour which begins in Auburn Hills (near Detroit) on Oct. 21. After their Hamilton stop, the group will play Boston, Philadelphia, Connecticut, East Rutherford, New Jersey, Atlantic City, Washington, then end the tour with two shows in Los Angeles in November.

This is the group's second trip to North American in less than two years. In 2006-07 they played a successful 36-city world tour. The band's mainstay frontmen, singer Roger Daltrey, 64, and guitarist Pete Townshend, 63, will be joined on stage by John Bundrick on keyboards, Pino Palladino on bass, Zak Starkey (son of former Beatle Ringo Starr) on drums and Simon Townshend (younger brother of Pete Townshend) on guitar.

The group, which was formed in 1964, released its most recent studio album, Endless Wire, in 2006.

The Who coup continues HECFI's hot streak of attracting top tier entertainment to Hamilton.

Michael Buble kicked off HECFI's 2008 season in January. Bruce Springsteen played on March 3, and on Aug. 20, rock/folk icon Bob Dylan will play Hamilton Place. Tickets for Alanis Morissette's Oct. 11 concert at Hamilton Place will go on sale July 25.

"It has been a great year," said Mr. Gillespie. So far, that is. HECFI officials are working on another "must-see" event for later this year and a "mega" event for 2009.

Mr. Gillespie credits the Springsteen concert as "opening the eyes" of rock promoters, proving that Hamilton could hold its own against Toronto and Buffalo venues. "Springsteen was a big one for us," he said.

Mr. Gillespie points out it's cheaper for people in the Southern Ontario area to travel to Hamilton rather than to Toronto to see a show, especially during tough economic times. Add up the cost of travel, parking and other expenses to see a concert in Toronto and "it's almost the cost of another ticket," he said.

"The shows in Hamilton are huge savings for people," he said.

Another key factor is HECFI's relationship with Live Nation, the continent's most prolific concert promotion company.

"We have a great relationship with Live Nation," he said. "They have been terrific. It's a good relationship for them, and a good relationship for us."