Economic impact of WWE events in Indy projected at $350M
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Pro wrestling is officially returning to Indianapolis, and it’s ready to put on some big shows.
World Wrestling Entertainment and the Indiana Sports Corp. on Monday confirmed they have struck a deal to bring WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and Summerslam to the city over the next eight years.
IBJ first reported on the agreement on Friday, and at that time an agreement had not been finalized.
The parties have since agreed to principal terms for the deal—the first WWE has ever struck with a local sports commission in the United States.
The deal will include WrestleMania, which has taken place in Indianapolis only once before in 1992, and SummerSlam, which the city last hosted in 2008. The city will also host Royal Rumble for the first time on Feb. 1, 2025. All three shows will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium and are collectively expected to generate at least $350 million in local spending.
“We are excited to bring this groundbreaking partnership to Indianapolis and our state,” Patrick Talty, president of Indiana Sports Corp, said in written remarks. “For over four decades, our city’s sports strategy has brought in millions of visitors and priceless hours of international brand-building media coverage. This partnership with WWE continues to push that strategy forward in new and exciting ways. We look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our community and state and showing them all that Indy has to offer.”
The partnership will also consist of multiple WWE events per year for the city, including a mix of Smackdown, Monday Night Raw, pay-per-view events and non-televised “house” shows held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The agreement will also create more events in other Indiana markets like Fort Wayne and Evansville, the latter of which will host Monday Night Raw on Sept. 30 as part of a separate agreement.
Financial terms of the deal between the Indiana Sports Corp. and WWE have not been disclosed, although Talty confirmed the organization used a portion of the state’s tourism bid fund to secure the commitment.
The deal between the two organizations is among the most comprehensive ever struck by the professional wrestling kingpin. In 2018, the company signed a long-term deal with Saudi Arabia to host events in the country through 2028; that deal could be renewed in the coming years to include flagship productions like Royal Rumble or WrestleMania.
“Indianapolis is a fantastic city for major events and we’re excited to invite the WWE Universe to Lucas Oil Stadium for Royal Rumble in 2025, and a future SummerSlam and WrestleMania,” Chris Legentil, WWE executive vice president of talent relations and communications said. “Patrick [Talty] and the team at Indiana Sports Corp have done a phenomenal job bolstering local economics and tourism, and we’re proud to partner with them to shine a light on the great state of Indiana.”
The announcement came as the WWE prepared to host its Raw event Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indianapolis has hosted several live WWE events dating to the early 1990s, most recently the 2023 Fastlane premium live event at Gainbridge Fieldhouse that drew a crowd of more than 14,500 and featured Pat McAfee teasing the crowd that Indianapolis “deserved a WrestleMania.” This deal was already well in the works at the time of that show.
WrestleMania, the two-day flagship event of WWE, will likely provide a major tourism boost for central Indiana.
The 1992 show in Indianapolis, a one-day affair featuring headliners Sid Justice, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Randy Savage, drew 62,167 people to the Hoosier Dome. WrestleMania became a two-day event starting in 2020.
According to SportsTravel Magazine, an industry trade publication, WrestleMania alone injects about $200 million annually into the economy of its host city and draws crowds of 120,000 to 150,000 people, a mix of local traffic and visitors. The economic impact figure includes the event itself as well as numerous ancillary wrestling shows that often to take place across the city in connection to—but independent from—WWE’s event.
WrestleMania, which is generally held in early to mid-April, has taken place outside the Midwest for more than 15 years, with the last such event in the region in Detroit in 2007. The 2025 shows are set for Las Vegas, with expectations of drawing as many as 180,000 visitors.
But hosting the event is a costly endeavor as well, with some economists pegging the price tag for host cities at about $20 million, with most of the cost tied to added security and road controls, discounts on stadium rentals and other spaces, and tax or financial incentives offered to entice WWE to select the city as a host.
Talty said discussions are still under way about who will foot the costs for the event, including the role Indiana Sports Corp. and other organizations may have in fundraising efforts.