World Wrestling Entertainment bursts into Las Vegas this week with a full card of professional wrestling events, topping off with WWE’s Super Bowl — WrestleMania — taking place this weekend.
WrestleMania takes place Saturday and Sunday at Allegiant Stadium and features a “who’s who” of wrestling superstars, headlined by the WWE undisputed championship bout between Cody Rhodes and John Cena.
The big show is bookended by Friday Night Smackdown on Friday, NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday morning, and Monday Night Raw on Monday, all at T-Mobile Arena.
Aside from the trio of shows, the large-scale fan fest, WWE World, is scheduled Thursday through Monday at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
A major draw
The week of wrestling and associated events is expected to draw 180,000 visitors to Las Vegas, who are expected to occupy over 144,000 incremental room nights at hotels in the city, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said they are excited about the busy week, especially since it falls on a usually slower holiday weekend.
“(We’re) even more excited because it is Easter weekend, which is typically not one of the busiest weekends of the year,” Hill said.
“The WrestleMania brand and the Vegas brand is pretty fun to play with. I think it is going to be a spectacular event, and we’re going to elevate WrestleMania like the other events that have come to Las Vegas.”
City ready for mega-event
On Monday, the city was already decked out for the week of wrestling events.
Landmarks featured mock WWE championship belts, signage, and other photo opportunities.
Sites included Harry Reid International Airport, MGM Grand, Caesars Palace, and Fremont Street Experience.
The LVCVA approved a $5 million sponsorship agreement with the WWE to host the mega-event.
That level of commitment by the LVCVA is a sign that tourism officials expect a lucrative week for Las Vegas.
“You can compare it to some of the trade shows that are in town, but from an attendance standpoint, from an economic standpoint, it’s probably the largest event that will be here outside of F1,” Hill said.
A pre-event economic benefit estimate was not available, but Jeremy Aguero, principal with Applied Analysis, said the Las Vegas-based financial consulting firm would create a post-event report.
Aguero echoed Hill, saying he expects that WrestleMania weekend to be one of the biggest weekends for Southern Nevada tourism revenue in 2025 outside of November’s Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Applied Analysis said that the 2024 grand prix generated an estimated economic impact of $934 million.
“The level of excitement, the level of spend, where people come from — it’s just a phenomenon,” Aguero told the Review-Journal last week.
“Because of the week and everything that is happening, I think it’s definitely going to be up there … When you think about the major events we have, you think about the Super Bowl, F1 and even the National Finals Rodeo means for us every year, the combination of those types of things, I think WWE needs to be in that mix.”
Tickets left
As the week of wrestling actions kicks off, there is still a smattering of tickets for WrestleMania left for sale on Ticketmaster.
As of Tuesday, tickets for Saturday’s matches started at $140 (lowest priced seats are noted to have limited views).
The cheapest ticket was $210 for Sunday (also with an obstructed view), and a two-day ticket started at $1,600.
All prices are retail and before taxes and fees.
On no-fee secondary ticket marketplace TickPick, tickets to Saturday’s event start at $599 (obstructed view).
Sunday was $328, with the cheapest two-day ticket costing $599.
Single-day for WWE World are $86.25 for adults and $40.25 for kids, though tickets for Monday are $63.25 for adults and $28.75 for kids.
Five-day passes cost $345 for adults and $138 for kids.
Another notch on the belt
Come 2028, Las Vegas will have hosted a Super Bowl, a College Football Playoff national championship game, a men’s NCAA Final Four, and WrestleMania.
Aguero said that being able to host all of those major marquee events is a huge deal for Southern Nevada going forward, as the area will be in the mix to host such large events on a rotating basis.
“I think this event will be great for Las Vegas, and I also think Las Vegas will be great for this event,” Aguero said.
“Everybody wants us to talk about things like economic impact; and those things are important, but for our community, what we want is for them to have the best event that they’re ever going to have anywhere in the world and have it here, because that’s going to keep bringing them back.
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