Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney on Tuesday told Techbook Online exclusively that WWE – a global sports-entertainment and intellectual property company that produces tons of content and live events a year – is aware of the city’s desire to host its flagship offering, WrestleMania.
“They know we’re very interested,” City Representative Sheila Hess confirmed, following my conversation with Philadelphia’s chief executive.
And in case they weren’t, Mayor Kenney – who at a Tuesday afternoon press conference rattled off the names of old and even older wrestlers in an attempt to highlight his once fanaticism for the business – from the lectern said: “I’d love to host WrestleMania soon… I’d love to host WrestleMania.”
To which WWE Superstar Mark Henry, a former World Heavyweight Champion who was in town to accept a proclamation from the City declaring ahead of Royal Rumble Week in Philadelphia, jokingly retorted: “I’ll put a word in.”
WWE, which is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, certainly sees a value in the Philadelphia audience, which has long treasured wrestling programing, whether it was staged at the Spectrum, the infamous ECW Arena or the Wells Fargo Center, which this month will host four days of live event programming, including WWE’s Royal Rumble.
In fact, multiples websites in 2017 – including Detroit’s ABC affiliate – reported that Philadelphia is among the three cities considered to host WrestleMania 35, the other two being New York City and Detroit.
Mayor Kenney, who hasn’t been to a wrestling match since the mid-90s, told me that Philadelphia would be a perfect city to host such an event because “the fan base is strong.”
Of course, a byproduct of hosting WrestleMania would be the untold amounts of publicity and earned media that the city would garner. But for now, the City of Philadelphia certainly isn’t starved for attention.
Besides the local football team heading to the Superbowl, WWE will be camped out here for nearly a week, broadcasting live around the world and mentioning Philadelphia each time they do.
That fact excites City Representative Hess.
“The recognition of the City on national and global television is enormous from a branding and tourism standpoint,” Ms. Hess said.
The media attention Philadelphia will receive in a matter of days is such that “we couldn’t even purchase,” Ms. Hess added.
The economic impact of the upcoming four-day WWE marathon at the Wells Fargo center remains unclear, but what is known is that roughly 60,000 fans are expected to engage the arena and surrounding areas throughout the duration of WWE’s stay here, with the biggest audience expected on Sunday for the Royal Rumble, which will feature, for the first-time ever, an all-women’s 30-person, over-the-top-rope battle royal match.
WWE Superstar Bayley, who on Tuesday accompanied Mark Henry to City Hall, will be a participant.
“As a fan growing up, and as someone who’s been with the company for five years now, it’s something you always wanted but never expected it to truly happen. The fact that it’s happening, and that I’m in the match, is just mind-blowing… it’s such an honor,” Bayley said.
Thanks for reading! Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® and I’m Drumming for Justice!™
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