WWE deal to bring big events to Indy was years in the making
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowWorld Wrestling Entertainment is stepping into the ring and getting ready to rumble with fans across Indiana.
The professional wrestling giant announced last week it bringing its three premiere live events—Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam—to Lucas Oil Stadium, with more events planned around the state over the next eight years.
But it wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment decision; discussions between WWE and the Indiana Sports Corp. began over two years ago.
Inside INdiana Business reporter Mary-Rachel Redman talked with Chris Legentil, WWE Executive Vice President and head of talent relations and communications, about what made Indy so attractive.
“Indianapolis is a fantastic big event city. We’ve seen the Super Bowl come here, Final Four, Olympic Trials … what we heard over and over again from people who came to town was this city knows how to do big events,” Legentil said. “Everything is easy to get to, the fans are great, people are very welcoming. And I think that those reasons all brought us to a decision to bring our three biggest events here to Indy.”
Legentil told our partners at the IBJ that the interest in Indianapolis began in 2022 when WWE President Nick Kahn visited the city for the College Football Playoff National Championship, and by that March, talks were being held for Indy to host one Royal Rumble.
“As time went on, it seemed like there was appetite and demand … to bring multiple events to Indianapolis, and we thought we could do a larger deal,” Legentil said. “We thought we could make more of an impact if we did something long term, and we have a wonderful partner in Patrick Talty, the Indiana Sports Corp. president, who shared our desire to come up with a creative deal that works well for both sides and ultimately presents something very attractive to the public.”
IBJ: WWE deal stems from long-simmering talks with Sports Corp.
The announcement of the partnership with the Indiana Sports Corp came the day after U.S. Olympic Swim Trials wrapped up. The event broke the record for the largest attendance at a swim meet–twice. Talty told Inside INdiana Business the organization was looking to keep momentum going.
“We started talking about what other events are out there and obviously WWE is a massive brand, global brand, it brings global eyeballs to the city that is hosting it,” said Talty, who is a former vice president of live events for WWE. “We started thinking about how best to really solidify the ability to present all three events and not just do one off bids here and there.”
WWE in Indy kicks off on Feb. 1, 2025 with Royal Rumble. Dates for SummerSlam and WrestleMania have not yet been announced. In addition to the action at Lucas Oil Stadium, WWE will host events such as Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown in Fort Wayne, Evansville and other cities around the state.
“It’s not just about the big stadium shows- it’s about the smaller shows, the midsize shows and we want to make sure that we hit all markets,” Legentil said. “We always want to be close to our fans and sometimes you hit them in the big cities. Other times, you hit them in the small towns and this partnership will allow us to do both.”
In addition to the events, Talty says there are plans for a legacy project to help the community.
“We’re always out looking for any events that make sense, that have an impact on the community … is it sports that people will want to be a part of? As you can see from the reaction on social media, the WWE Universe cares, they’re passionate, and they’re excited about coming to Indianapolis,” Talty said.
Talty estimates the partnership will have a $300 million economic impact over the eight years. Tickets for Royal Rumble are not on sale yet.