Study: WrestleMania generates $206m for Dallas/Arlington
July 11, 2022
By Nik Roseveare
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Arlington Mayor Jim Ross have revealed that WrestleMania 38 generated $206.5 million (€204.7m) in economic impact for the Dallas/Arlington region this past April, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation. This marks a new company record and the first time in history that WrestleMania has generated more than $200 million in economic impact.
Over the past 12 years, WrestleMania has generated more than $1 billion in cumulative economic impact for the US cities that have hosted the event. WrestleMania also generated approximately $24.8 million in federal, state and local taxes.
“On behalf of the Jones family and the entire Dallas Cowboys organisation, we congratulate WWE on their milestone success of WrestleMania at AT&T Stadium,” said Dallas Cowboys Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones. “We were honoured to partner with WWE and their Superstars to give back to the community in a multitude of ways during WrestleMania Week.”
“On behalf of the city of Arlington, we congratulate WWE and their fans for surpassing $200 million in economic impact for the first time in WrestleMania history,” said Ross. “We are glad to have shared this success and look forward to the opportunity for AT&T Stadium to host a future WrestleMania.”
“We are thrilled that WrestleMania’s return to full capacity generated stupendous record results for our partners in Dallas and Arlington, showcasing the continued growth for WWE’s largest annual celebration,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John P. Saboor. “This success would not have been possible without the tireless support of Mayor Johnson, Mayor Ross, Charlotte Jones and the entire Jones family, the Dallas Cowboys organisation, Dallas Sports Commission, American Airlines Center and the rest of our public and private sector partners throughout the region. We now turn our focus to next year’s WrestleMania in Hollywood.”
A capacity crowd of 156,352 fans from all 50 states and 53 countries attended WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza over the course of two nights this past April, making it the highest-grossing and most-attended event in WWE history. The event was headlined by ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin defeating Kevin Owens (on night one) and Roman Reigns pinning Brock Lesnar in a Championship unification match (on night two).
Key highlights from the study include:
- $206.5 million in direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by visitors to the Dallas/Arlington region for WrestleMania.
- 67 per cent of fans that attended WrestleMania were from outside the Dallas/Arlington region and stayed an average of 3.5 nights.
- $25.4 million was spent on hotels and accommodations within the Dallas/Arlington region.
- The economic impact derived from WrestleMania Week was equal to the creation of 1,777 full-time jobs for the area.
Next year, WrestleMania will take place on April 1st and 2nd at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The event will stream live exclusively on Peacock in the US and WWE Network everywhere else.
In September, WWE will host Clash at The Castle in Cardiff, Wales – the company’s first UK stadium show in 30 years.