WWE News: Winter Olympics host city seeking bid for WrestleMania 29 or 30

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Rusty Gull

Well, if Roddy Piper, Jimmy Superfly Snuka, Hulk Hogan or Brett Hart are remotely involved, then yes, you have an event. I could actually see myself growing a mullet for this event.

I've seen monster truck rallies at BC Place before, so I'm not above rubbing shoulder with frothing-at-the-mouth, monster-mulleted rasslin' fans.

You're from Surrey on the Slope and you don't already have a mullet?

[quobobo]

Originally Posted by s211

And in related news, Vancouver will be changing its name to Surrey and its coat of arms will be replaced with a nekkid chik mudflap.

By far the best snark in this thread.

[TheBoingoBandit]

WrestleMania 30 will most likely be held at Madison Square Garden (home of the first one), like it is every ten years.








I thought I'd post up this selection of photos taken from the past twenty-five WrestleManias.


http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/photos/venues/


There are some cool photos here including many crowd shots taken from the cheap seats.

[Rusty Gull]

Toronto bids to host WrestleMania again

Cathal Kelly
Staff Reporter

Toronto is one of 14 North American cities that have submitted a bid to host WrestleMania, a WWE spokesperson confirmed Monday.

Toronto has hosted World Wrestling Entertainment’s showcase event twice – in 1990 and 2002.

Though the profile of professional wrestling has declined in recent years, in proportion to the rise in popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and mixed-martial arts generally, WrestleMania continues to pack them in.

The event has generated $50 million (U.S.) inside the local economies of Houston and Orlando in recent years, according to the WWE.

WrestleMania 26, featuring WWE stars such as the Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, went off this past weekend in Arizona. Seventy-two thousand spectators were on hand at the University of Phoenix Stadium, about a thousand more than watched the NFL’s Super Bowl in the same venue two years ago.

Fourteen cities have submitted applications to hold WrestleManias in either 2012, ’13 or ’14. (Next year’s event has already been awarded to Atlanta).

“Toronto is one of the cities that has put in a bid,” said WWE spokesperson Robert Zimmerman.

He didn’t know where exactly Toronto proposed to hold the event. Both previous Toronto Wrestlemanias were held at the Rogers Centre, then known as the SkyDome.

All 14 applicants apparently have an equal shot at all three years, and little say about which they’d like.

“They don’t know (the year), they just know they’re bidding to host it,” said Zimmerman.

Other applicants include most of the continent’s metropolises, including Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Dallas, New Orleans and Vancouver.

According to Zimmerman, the WWE’s decision is likely to be announced in February 2011.

[SpikePhanta]

I watched WWE when I was 10

I wouldn't mind it, It's good if Vancouver get's more Events!

And Hopefully we get E3 one day!

[Locked In]

UFC event confirmed, now Vancouver chases WrestleMania

By Chris Parry, Vancouver Sun April 5, 2010 5:37 PM


A scene from Wrestlemania XXVI, March 28 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Photograph by: Handout, WWE.com

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming to Vancouver on June 12 after a protracted regulatory tussle at the municipal level that nearly saw the event cancelled at the zero hour, but fans of high octane sports entertainment ain't seen nothing yet. The WWE has announced Vancouver is in the running for an upcoming WrestleMania event.

WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman has confirmed that fourteen cities are on the shortlist for WrestleMania events 28 through 30, slated for 2012, '13 and '14, but says the city, province and private interests would need to demonstrate that they are ready for the event in order for the process to move forward.

"We did receive a letter from an interested third party," Zimmerman said from the WWE's Hartford Connecticut officers Monday. "We haven't received any official word from the city of Vancouver yet. They'd have to send correspondence that they're interested in doing something with us, then the city would have to meet our criteria to even submit a full bid."

A teleconference involving the Vancouver Athletic Commission, the Vancouver WrestleMania bid committee, and WWE representatives is tentatively scheduled for Friday. A final decision is due February 2011.

The cities in the running currently include Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Toronto, Detroit and New Orleans.

Previous WrestleMania events have drawn as many as 93,000 people in the U.S., and 67,000 to the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The move to bring the WWE to town started with local pro wrestling promoter Dave Teixeira, who stages Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) events at the Russian Community Centre in Vancouver and at Surrey's Bridgeview Hall when he's not engaging in his day job as a political consultant. Teixeira set up a Facebook group supporting a B.C.-based WWE event, gathered supporters, talked to some folks at City Hall to gauge municipal interest, and then took his case directly to the WWE.

"Unfortunately, there's not an 'office of bids' in Vancouver," says Teixeira, "so much like happened with the Police and Fire Games, it's left to interested people to say, 'We could do this', then gather the paperwork, talk to the people who would need to sign off on it, and then push the issue forward."

Teixeira says the WWE claims their events inject up to $50 million into local economies, based on past history.

"The event has only been held outside the U.S. twice before, both times in Toronto. And they're in the running again, so clearly there's something to it," he says.

Unlike most one-off sporting events, WrestleMania productions are akin to the Oscars and Superbowl in that the show unfolds over several days across a multitude of venues.

"What we're proposing is a multi-day event at different venues, with WrestleMania on the Sunday at BC Place for 55,000 people," Teixeira says, "while Thursday to the Sunday is basically a fan-fest where people can meet the wrestlers. They set up interactive displays, charitable events and autograph shows - that could be at the convention centre. Saturday evening they hold a Hall of Fame induction, so we're saying that could be the theatre bowl configuration of GM Place, which would hold about 6,000 people."

"And next day is a TV taping of Monday Night Raw, so we're saying we'd have that at GM place for 22,000 or so fans," he adds.

The Vancouver Athletic Commission has weighed in with support Teixeira's proposal, sending a letter to the WWE backing the bid.

"Over the years Vancouver has been host to many world-class events with one glaring exception, WrestleMania," the letter states. "It is now with great pride and privilege that the Vancouver Athletic Commission is prepared to assist the WrestleMania Vancouver Bid Committee in hopes of bringing this prestigious event to Vancouver the home of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Should you choose to bring WrestleMania to Vancouver we will be ready to process your event."

Zimmerman says the city of Vancouver would have to show it could handle the transportation, security, infrastructure, venue and accommodation demands of 70,000 people descending on the city, something the recent Winter Olympic Games experience would suggest shouldn't be a problem.

"We want to make sure there's an infrastructure that will ensure those people have a great WrestleMania experience, so the process is a long one and we need, first and foremost, to make certain the city wants us there," he says.

A planned seat fee of $1.00 per ticket has been proposed as part of bylaw changes scheduled to be discussed at Vancouver city council tuesday. That seat fee could bring the athletic commission $100,000 in funding over the course of a WrestleMania weekend.

But for Teixeira, there's an ulterior motive to his lobbying for the WWE to come to town. His ECCW shows could use some of the residual interest that a high profile wrestling event might bring.

"I'm of the philosophy that a rising tide raises all boats. Bringing the UFC here helps local MMA promotions, and bringing the WWE here on the grand stage would help local pro wrestling. We'd probably hold a show on the Saturday or Friday and hope to draw some tourists."

"More importantly, it solidifies our place as an entertainment capital, showcases a new venue with the new roof expected for 2011, and with the UFC, Grey Cup, whatever else, it's a nice way to build on the Olympics."

Professional wrestling has slumped in popularity in recent years, but the annual 'Superbowl of sports entertainment' continues to bring fans out of the woodwork in huge numbers, with the most recent WrestleMania, which took place on March 28 at the University of Phoenix stadium, drawing 72,000 people. It was the highest grossing event in the history of the venue and the third highest in the history of the WWE.

cparry@vancouversun.com

Source: Vancouver Sun

[Vancity]

Seems like the city is becoming a bit proactive in pursuing sporting events. I've stated before, the more sporting, athletic, and professional sporting teams we can lure to our beautiful city - the better. Needless to say, when the sun goes down in Vancouver, there isn't much to do (the Summers here are a different story). Having these kinds of events are good for entertainment alternatives. Maybe the city wants to shed it's "no fun" reputation? We can only hope this to be true.

Next up: the NBA. Bring a team back home!

[Spoolmak]

well Vancouver is a very outdoors, fit, recreational city why not have as many sport teams as possible!

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Originally Posted by Spoolmak

well Vancouver is a very outdoors, fit, recreational city why not have as many sport teams as possible!

Hmm... the variety of things to do outdoors will certainly take a dent on team revenues once it has a losing record. Once you're talking about a string of losing seasons...

[ozonemania]

Originally Posted by Spoolmak

well Vancouver is a very outdoors, fit, recreational city why not have as many sport teams as possible!

Vancouver isn't that big and face it our pocketbooks aren't unlimited. Successful teams or not there's only so many sports our city can support. Not every resident is a sports spectator, plus we have other entertainment options we need to balance with like the arts and of course the great outdoors.

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by ozonemania

Vancouver isn't that big and face it our pocketbooks aren't unlimited. Successful teams or not there's only so many sports our city can support. Not every resident is a sports spectator, plus we have other entertainment options we need to balance with like the arts and of course the great outdoors.

That's true. Vancouver doesn't have unlimited pocketbooks, but then again, this is the case for most cities too with the exceptions of the big cities such as the New Yorks, and Chicago's, and the LA's of the world. As of right now, we have the NHL (the Canucks will always be king in this town, unless they begin to lose consistently), the CFL, and the soon to be MLS. Out of those three professional teams, the NHL is considered major league sports. There is, in my opinion, enough support for 1 or 2 more professional franchises - the NBA would do well here, if the team can succeed and win more than 23 games a year. Vancouverites have a tendency to jump on a team that's doing well, and then abandon them when they're not. That's the kind of support we have here, so basically, it comes down to one thing: WIN. If these teams want support, they need to win, because if they win, they will draw fans to their games.

I see the pecking order in this way:
1) Canucks (always will be there in this town)
2) Whitecaps FC (they will, in my opinion rise above the CFL in terms of popularity)
3) CFL (They are as of now, in rebuild mode, how long will it take? Who knows)

Should we get a second shot at an NBA franchise, this is how I see things:
1) Canucks
2) Whitecaps FC
3) NBA (IF they can manage to put on an entertaining product on the court)
4) CFL (If they continue to lose, their fans will look elsewhere for entertainment)

Vancouver has a metro population of what? According to 2006 Census, the city's population was 2.1 million, that was three years ago. Let's say the population now is 2.2, or even 2.3 mil. That's enough people across the lower mainland to interested in the outdoors, the arts, and the sporting scene. In 10 years, we could very well have a population of 3 million in metro van.

[Spoolmak]

It wouldn't just be Vancouvers team, it would be BC's team. Van is the only major city in this province of 4.5 million people, so it would get support from all over the place. Just like the 'nucks or the Lions. AB has only 3.6 mil and it has double the amount of pro sports teams we have. People from all over the province go to hockey games and CFL games. Same would be said for an NBA team because this province doesn't have rivals in or around BC.