The biggest show in professional wrestling is making its return to North Texas.
World Wrestling Entertainment has informed The Dallas Morning News that AT&T Stadium will be one of its next three WrestleMania host sites with the return to Arlington happening on April 3, 2022 for WrestleMania 38.
“We are elated for WrestleMania’s return to Arlington’s AT&T Stadium and look forward to building upon the success from 2016 when more than 101,000 fans were in attendance for WrestleMania 32,” said Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams.
AT&T Stadium hosted WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016 with a record crowd of 101,763. The event generated $170.4 million in economic impact for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to a 2016 study by Enigma Research.
“WWE put on one of the most entertaining shows we’ve seen, and we expect an even bigger extravaganza this time around with WrestleMania 38 at AT&T Stadium,” said Dallas Cowboys chief brand officer Charlotte Jones.
The first WrestleMania in Arlington, headlined by a WWE championship match between Roman Reigns and Triple H, still holds the record for the highest-attended event in WWE history. It beat WWE’s previous announced attendance record of the 93,173 fans who attended WrestleMania 3 at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan in 1987 and ranks fifth on the all-time attendance record list for AT&T Stadium.
Will WWE try to top themselves in 2022?
“We’ll absolutely plan to work closely with our partners to build the most robust capacity possible for fans within Dallas and Arlington, and we want that capacity and that net to be thrown as far and wide as reasonable,” John Saboor, WWE’s executive vice president of special events, told The News.
“We want to include as many fans from within North Texas, as well as those who would travel here from throughout the globe.”
WWE also named Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. as the site for this year’s WrestleMania, a two night event with limited fan attendance from April 10-11. SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. will host on April 2, 2023.
“On behalf of everyone at WWE, we thank Governor DeSantis, Mayor Castor, Mayor Williams and Mayor Butts for their graciousness and flexibility in what was a collaborative effort to bring the next three WrestleManias to these iconic stadiums in their world-class cities,” said WWE chairman and CEO Vince McMahon.
WrestleMania 36 was scheduled to take place last April in front of a live audience at Raymond James Stadium, but the coronavirus pandemic forced the event to be held and pre-recorded at WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando with no fans.
These events are the first WWE has announced that have the potential to host an abundance of fans since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down public gatherings across the country. WWE, who has managed to continue its weekly television programs in the U.S. throughout the pandemic, has been hosting shows since March at various locations in Florida with either limited or no fans in attendance.
“We’re going to work with our partners to the best of our ability to present Raymond James in a safe and measured fashion with a limited capacity,” Saboor told The News. “We’ll do that in coordination, in absolute coordination with local government officials and all of our regional partners.
“Safety is our absolute top priority.”
Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth was scheduled to host Monday Night Raw on March 23, 2020 – WWE’s debut in one of D-FW’s newest arenas – but the pandemic also forced that show to Orlando.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys averaged 27,377 fans for their home games at AT&T Stadium during the 2020 season. The peak came Nov. 8 when there were 31,700 fans inside JerryWorld for a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Dallas’ per game average easily led the NFL. Jacksonville was next with an average of 15,919 fans for home games.
However, the Cowboys’ ability to facilitate thousands of fans at a time during a pandemic wasn’t an overriding factor is WWE’s decision to return to North Texas next year.
“The discussions [to come back to AT&T Stadium] have been really underway since our successful conclusion in 2016. So, I wouldn’t want to attribute it to any one thing, but rather a dynamic list of reasons that always had us wanting to return. And it happens to be next year,” said Saboor.
“There’s so much to celebrate in this news which will once again create a powerful opportunity to match one of the world’s most iconic sports and entertainment events with certainly one of the world’s most iconic stadiums.”
Smashing records
WrestleMania 32 was the best-attended event in WWE history. It ranked fifth in AT&T Stadium’s history. Here’s a look at the top 5 events at the home of the Dallas Cowboys:
108,731: NBA All-Star Game, February 14, 2010
105,121: Dallas Cowboys vs. N.Y. Giants, September 20, 2009
104,793: George Strait Concert, June 7, 2014
103,219: Super Bowl XLV, February 6, 2011
101,763: WrestleMania 32, April 3, 2016
Source: AT&T Stadium
Full slate: In addition to WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium, WWE plans to roll out its entire week of WrestleMania events once again in 2022.
“In addition to all of our ticketed events, our plan in Dallas and Arlington would be to again work in earnest with all of our local partners to present a variety of community-based events intended to positively affect families and children throughout the region,” Saboor said.
“It is our overarching goal not only to provide positive economic windfall for the region, but also to create a positive social windfall.”
In addition to the community-based events, WWE intends to return to American Airlines Center the same week for episodes of Monday Night Raw and SmackDown, its NXT: TakeOver event, and to host the 2022 Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center would also be in line to house WrestleMania Axxess, as the venue did in 2016.
Ticket release: Rather than wait for WrestleMania, AT&T Stadium may see a WWE event in 2021.
WWE hosted a WrestleMania ticket release party inside JerryWorld in November 2015, five months prior to WrestleMania 32, and should the COVID-19 pandemic allow, WWE intends to pursue hosting the event again this year.
“If the environment permits and our partners feel as if we can achieve that – our partners and local officials feel like we can achieve that in a safe and measured fashion, it would be our goal to want to pursue that discussion,” Saboor said.
“But most certainly remains to be seen whether or not that can be achieved in November.”
WWE will announce details about tickets going on sale for WrestleMania 37 in Tampa in the coming weeks.
Another shot: One of the biggest criticisms from fans who attended the event in 2016 was the drastically long and slow-moving lines to get inside AT&T Stadium.
How will WWE improve on the fan experience for those coming from North Texas and around the world?
“Every year is a learning year, and we take best practices and apply them in the year going forward,” Saboor said.
“There isn’t a year that goes by that we don’t develop new and improved ideas for bringing the fan experience to the next level, and [2022] will certainly be no exception in that regard.”
More from Saboor: “Oftentimes, a return to a place like Dallas – like was the case with New Orleans or Orlando – sparks the question of, you know, what do you do? Is it going to be the same? Is it going to be different? I would just say no two WrestleManias are alike.”
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