Wrestlemania® Generates $139 Million for Santa Clara/San Jose Region

(Photo: Business Wire)

STAMFORD, Conn.--()--WWE® (NYSE:WWE), Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced today that WrestleMania 31 generated $139 million in economic impact for the Santa Clara/San Jose region this past March, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks the second largest economic impact in WrestleMania history, and the fourth consecutive year that WrestleMania generated more than $100 million in economic impact for its host region.

Over the past nine years, WrestleMania has generated more than $700 million in cumulative economic impact for the cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania 31 also generated approximately $23.2 million in federal, state and local taxes.

“On behalf of the beautiful city of Santa Clara, I sincerely thank all WWE fans that visited Levi’s Stadium for WrestleMania 31,” said Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews. “The event exceeded our expectations, and we would absolutely welcome the opportunity to once again host WWE’s marquee event.”

WrestleMania 31 gave passionate fans that came from near and far an experience they’ll never forget,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “I thank WWE for choosing to host their longest-running flagship event in Silicon Valley, for its contributions to our community, and for driving economic benefit in our region.”

"We are proud that WrestleMania continues to deliver an incredible economic benefit for its host region,” said John P. Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President, Special Events. "Our WrestleMania Week success in the Bay Area would not have been possible without the support of Mayor Matthews, Mayor Liccardo, the San Francisco 49ers and countless other public and private sector partners that embraced WWE’s worldwide fan base. We are excited with the planning that is already underway with our new partners in the Dallas/Arlington area for WrestleMania 32."

A capacity crowd of 76,976 fans from all 50 states and 53 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza this past March, making it the highest-grossing event in WWE history. Key highlights from the study include:

  • $139 million in direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by visitors to the Santa Clara/San Jose region for WrestleMania 31.
  • 78% of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the greater Santa Clara/San Jose region and stayed an average of 3.3 nights.
  • $22 million was spent on hotels and accommodations within the Santa Clara/San Jose region.
  • The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week was equal to the creation of 1,218 full-time jobs for the area.
  • $6.2 million was spent by visitors to the Santa Clara/San Jose region at area restaurants.

Next year, WrestleMania 32 will take place Sunday, April 3 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, TX. Tickets go on sale this Friday, November 6 at 10 AM Eastern/9 AM Central. The event will be broadcast live on WWE Network in more than 175 countries.

About Enigma Research Corporation

Enigma Research Corporation is an international consulting firm which specializes in measuring the economic impact of special events. Enigma’s economists developed a customized model which converted expenditures into economic impact, employment created and taxes generated as a result of the event.

About WWE

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE:WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming reaches more than 650 million homes worldwide in 25 languages. WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 over-the-top premium network that includes all live pay-per-views, scheduled programming and a massive video-on-demand library, is currently available in more than 175 countries. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE:WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

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Contacts

WWE
Media:
Adam Hopkins, 203-352-8675
Adam.Hopkins@wwecorp.com
or
Investors:
Michael Weitz, 203-352-8642
Michael.Weitz@wwecorp.com

Contacts

WWE
Media:
Adam Hopkins, 203-352-8675
Adam.Hopkins@wwecorp.com
or
Investors:
Michael Weitz, 203-352-8642
Michael.Weitz@wwecorp.com