The Greater Orlando Sports Commission is seeking to reach an agreement with WWE and UFC to bring future events to the city in a deal that is reportedly valued at $18 million.
As reported by the Orlando Business Journal, the Commission had its request for the multi-million dollar grant advanced on March 24th by the Tourist Development Tax Sports Incentive Committee and is next scheduled to be put before the county. The funds would be used to place a bid to host 4 events under the TKO Holdings umbrella, the parent company of WWE and UFC.
The article notes that the following events are of interest to be brought to the Florida city over the next 6 years:
- In 2026: Either Survivor Series in November or Saturday Night’s Main Event in December at Kia Center.
- In 2027: a pay-per-view with UFC in August or September at Kia Center.
- In 2028: Royal Rumble at Camping World Stadium in February 2028.
- In 2031: Host WrestleMania in mid to late April, with Camping World Stadium serving as the main venue and Kia Center also hosting events during WrestleMania week. The WrestleMania event itself will be two nights, as well as arena shows for Raw and SmackDown during the week.
With the events bringing in thousands of fans to the host cities, it is projected that the local economy will see a return of more than $120 million as local businesses will benefit from the increased footfall.
If the agreement does get completed, this will follow on from Indianapolis previously securing a similar deal to host multiple major events over the next few years.
Orlando To Host Another WWE WrestleMania?
The Florida City last hosted a standard WrestleMania back in 2017 with WrestleMania 33, which was headlined by Roman Reigns defeating The Undertaker. While Orlando did technically present a WrestleMania in 2020, this was held at the Performance Center with no fans in attendance due to restrictions in place as a result of the COVID pandemic.
A UFC event was last held in the city in 2022 with more than 17,000 fans in attendance at the Kia Center.