Honolulu fans of the Rolling Stones will be getting what they want after all.

After months of will-they-or-won't-they-play-here rumors, The Stones announced yesterday that their year-long, multimillion-dollar-grossing "A Bigger Bang Tour" is coming to Aloha Stadium on Thanksgiving eve.

Tickets for the Nov. 22 show will go on sale at 9 a.m. Sept. 30 via Ticketmaster at $160, $99 and $60. A limited number of premium tickets will also be made available, but prices were not immediately released.

The show's start time and opening act have not been announced. Opening acts slated for other stops on the fall North American "A Bigger Bang" tour leg have included the Dave Matthews Band, Alice Cooper and Van Morrison.

Presale ticket packages for Rolling Stones fan club members and high rollers will go on sale in advance of the bulk ticket sale, at 10 a.m. Tuesday. For more information, visit www.rollingstones .com.

Tickets going on sale Sept. 30 will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets, including the Blaisdell Center box office, Times Supermarkets and the Brigham Young University-Hawai'i student activity center. Purchases may also be made by phone at (877) 750-4400 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Would-be buyers considering lining up at Ticketmaster outlets should note that many fans who waited in line for hours earlier this year hoping to purchase U2 tickets went home empty-handed, while online and phone customers scooped up the best tickets.

Sales online, by phone or in person will be limited to 4 tickets per buyer within the first 10 rows, and 12 tickets per buyer outside of those rows. The Rolling Stones last played Honolulu's Aloha Stadium on Jan. 23 and 24, 1998, as part of their "Bridges to Babylon" tour.

"This is just such an enormous band with a history that goes back well over 40 years. The historical aspect of having a rock commodity with that kind of longevity visit here is one reason people should really go," said Dave Lawrence, the music director at Honolulu classic rock radio station KPOI 105.9 FM.

"The second is, there's really no telling how long an endeavor like (the Stones) will last. There may not be a whole lot more tours for them. The band says it may be their last tour."

Rumors circulated internationally among fans in recent months that the Stones would play an Aloha Stadium show. In July, the Advertiser addressed rumors of a possible Thanksgiving Stones date.

And KPOI-FM announced in early August that a Thanksgiving eve Stones concert was all but certain.

Official word from tour promoters Concert Productions International and The Next Adventure came yesterday morning, just hours before a Stones' Boston concert — the first stop on the North American leg of the band's tour.

Music industry trade magazine Billboard reported this month that the "A Bigger Bang Tour" — named after the Stones' 2005 CD — will likely wind up as the highest-grossing tour of all time. By mid-August, according to Billboard, the tour had grossed more than $256 million from 72 shows in the United States and worldwide.

U2's "Vertigo Tour," which grossed more than $333 million between March 2005 and March 2006, holds the current record as highest-grossing tour. That number will climb higher as U2 finishes off 10 shows postponed from earlier this year, ending up with a Dec. 9 Aloha Stadium stop in Honolulu.

The Stones' "A Bigger Bang" tour has played for more than 4.5 million fans since launching in August 2005. According to Billboard, each Rolling Stones stadium date averages a $5 million gross. The tour is expected to surpass a $400 million total gross by the time it rolls out of Hono-lulu.

Reviews of the Rolling Stones summer concerts in Europe have detailed a concert running just over two hours, filled with familiar hits and deep catalogue tunes spanning the band's four-decade career. A giant video screen spans the length of the Stones' towering effects-rigged stage.

Near the show's end, the band gathers on a small riser, which disengages from the main stage and takes them mid-field for a mini-set.

"My understanding is it's the full rig, much like U2. And the Stones are never really short on toys," said Lawrence of the Ho-nolulu show. "They probably bring one of the larger shows. Bands like the Stones and U2 bring a real production."

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com.