LionDen
03-29-2010, 11:41 PM
The Toronto Star ran a piece today regarding the city having bid on a future Wrestlemania. Original article can be found here (http://www.thestar.com/sports/wrestling/article/787065--toronto-bids-to-host-wrestlemania-again).
Toronto bids to host WrestleMania again
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
Toronto bids to host WrestleMania again
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