WrestleMania bringing in the big bucks.
The 34th annual WrestleMania spectacle was held on April 8th of this year inside of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The match card consisted of a then-dream match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Championship. The Undertaker and John Cena went one-on-one, Charlotte Flair ended Asuka's nearly three-year undefeated streak to retain the SmackDown Live Women's Championship, Daniel Bryan returned to the ring for the first-time since his career-threatening injury and the show closed with Brock Lesnar defeating Roman Reigns to retain the Universal Title.
WrestleMania always generates great amounts of revenue and it had a great economic factor on the economy of this year's location as well. First reported by NOLA.com, WWE and Governor John Bel Edwards announced that WrestleMania 34 generated $175 million in economic impact according to a study by the Enigma Research Corporation.
The article on NOLA.com read that WrestleMania 34 generated $23.7 million in federal, state and local taxes and $22 million was spent on hotels and other assets in New Orleans and there was $9.9 million spent by the public at food and bar places. WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John P. Saboor had the following to say about this news and added that WWE will be returning to the city for a WrestleMania but it is just a matter of finding the right time.
"We are delighted for New Orleans, who welcomed the WWE Universe with open arms,” said John P. Saboor, WWE executive vice president of special events. “This result reinforces the fact that our fans are coming to our host city earlier, staying later and spending more. When we decide to return, we look forward to creating another set of experiences and memories for those who attend,” Saboor said. “No two WrestleManias are the same, as our chairman likes to say. 2014 was so big, and then he made it bigger in 2018.”
Governor John Bel Edwards noted in the press release regarding this announcement that WWE delivered on their promise and he is hoping to bring WrestleMania back to "The Big Easy".
“Yet again, WWE delivered on its promise to offer a spectacular event in New Orleans and a boost to the local economy,” Edwards said in a press release. “I would like to thank the WWE fans from around the world that descended on New Orleans for WrestleMania week. We hope they enjoyed their visit, and more importantly, we hope to bring WrestleMania back to New Orleans in the future.”
WWE has since sent Fightful a press release, touting the numbers.
WWE (NYSE: WWE) and Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced today that WrestleMania 34 generated $175 million in economic impact for the greater New Orleans region this past April, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks a significant increase from the $142 million generated for WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans and the seventh consecutive year that WrestleMania generated more than $100 million in economic impact for its host region.
Over the past 12 years, WrestleMania has generated more than $1.2 billion in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania 34 also generated approximately $23.7 million in federal, state and local taxes.
“We were thrilled to have been a cornerstone event as part of the city’s Tricentennial Celebration, and that WrestleMania’s triumphant return to New Orleans once again generated an incredible economic windfall for the city,” said John P. Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events. “The success of our weeklong celebration would not have been possible without the tireless support of the State of Louisiana, the City of New Orleans and all of the public and private sector partners throughout the region. We now turn our attention to New York and New Jersey for what will be a historic WrestleMania Week celebration.”
A record crowd of 78,133 fans from all 50 states and 67 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza this past April, making it the highest-grossing entertainment event in the history of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Key highlights from the study include:
- $175 million in direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by visitors to New Orleans for WrestleMania 34.
- 77% of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the New Orleans region and stayed an average of 3.9 nights.
- $22 million was spent on hotels and accommodations within New Orleans.
- The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week was equal to the creation of 1,583 full-time jobs for the area.
- $9.9 million was spent by visitors to New Orleans at area restaurants.
Next year, WrestleMania 35 will take place Sunday, April 7 live from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Tickets will be available this Friday, November 16 at 10 AM ET through Ticketmaster. The event will be streamed live around the world on WWE Network.
On a related note, Fightful went live on our YouTube channel immediately after WrestleMania 34 ended and to hear our crew's thoughts and opinions on the show, click here.
