14 cities have put in bids to get WrestleMania between 2012 and 2014. They are Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Tampa, Vancouver, New Orleans, St Louis, Jacksonville, Orlando, Houston and Toronto, which remains the frontrunner for the 2012 event. WWE is able to play these bids off of one another due to the amount that the week-long festivities contributes to the local economies. Estimates are that 60% of the WrestleMania 25 audience came from outside of Texas and stayed in Houston for three days on average.
Miami has a good chance of a successful bid as they were the second choice for the 2011 event, behind Atlanta. The event would be at the Land Shark Stadium, the following night’s Raw at the American Airlines Arena and the Hall of Fame ceremony at the Miami Beach Convention Centre, which is where Terry Funk won the NWA title from Jack Brisco. Los Angeles is expected to remain the permanent site for SummerSlam, which would diminish its chances of getting WrestleMania as well. New York, in theory, would host the 2014 event in keeping with the 1994 and 2004 events being held there. It might not be at Madison Square Garden, however, as that would limit the potential attendance. Detroit has a good chance as it has run the most attended WrestleManias in history and is within good reach of a number of other major cities for travelling fans. St Louis mayor, Francis Slay, sent out a letter to citizens (including Randy Orton) last week asking people to let him know if the city should bid for WrestleMania. Orlando and Houston may not be picked as WWE would not want to return there so soon.
WWE has discussed using the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, which seats 80,000 for NFL games. It is not expected to happen until later in the decade, however, as the stadium is already lined up for other major sporting events at that time of year.
WWE used to just make deals with specific arenas. After hiring John Saboor, the man who led the successful Orlando bid for 2008, however, they have started making deals with the cities instead. Like the NCAA basketball tournament and other major events, WWE seeks money breaks or incentives to come into the city. The rule is that the bidding cities have to be willing to accept any of the 2012, 2013 and 2014 events as WWE will decide all three from the bids they receive.
WrestleMania got coverage in Hollywood Reporter, comparing it to the Oscars and the Super Bowl. It noted that WWE groosed $32.2 million from the 2009 event. The Oscars tend towards $68-81 million and the Super Bowl between $154-213 million. WWE Chief Financial Officer George Barrios is quoted as saying WWE was unhappy with the 2008 numbers, despite it being the third biggest WrestleMania ever in terms of PPV buys. It got 1,041,000 but internal estimates reached as high as 1.4 million, with Floyd Mayweather taking up a significant chunk of their profit. When asked about 2010, Barrios said “We know it won’t be like 2008. We feel pretty good about the number.â€
Credit: Wrestling Observer
