WWE Ticket Sales Reach Historic Low Leading Up To WrestleMania

WrestlingWWE

February 25, 2020
Olivia Perreault 0

WWE sales have steadily declined over the past year, but now, ticket demand for shows surrounding WrestleMania has hit an all-time low.

While WrestleMania 36 has not sold-out yet, ticket sales for the event have been moving fast on the secondary market, Forbes reports. The historic event, set to take place at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa this April, isn’t the problem. Other traditional WWE events, like the WWE Hall of Fame, WWE Raw, Friday Night SmackDown, and NXT, however, haven’t even been close to selling out. Dave Meltzer noted in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that “the demand for the non-Mania shows is by far the lowest since WWE started doing multiple shows in the Mania city gimmick.”

Since WWE typically holds its flagship television shows in the neighboring venues within the same city as WrestleMania, all events will take place in Tampa. The WWE Hall of Fame is slated to take place on April 2 and Friday Night SmackDown will kick things off at Amalie Arena on April 3, followed by the WWE NXT TakeOver in Tampa Bay on April 4 and WrestleMania 36 on April 5. Raw and SmackDown will close out the festivities on April 6 and 7, respectively.

Currently, get-in prices for WrestleMania weekend shows range from $33 for Raw to $45 for SmackDown. Meltzer noted that during the Hall of Fame, the venue is not opening up the top section, yet there are seats still available. Similarly, Smackdown will be opening about 40 percent of the upper deck and the full lower level, as well as 100s and 200s.

“So the demand for the Raw after WrestleMania, previously one of the hottest tickets of the year, is way down,” Meltzer said. “Even in the sections open, they have plenty of seats available.”

Earlier this year, WWE revealed in its latest financial report that ticket sales and WWE Network subscribers have fallen. During the fourth quarter and full year of 2019, WWE reported record revenues of $960.4 million, which is up three percent from 2018. However, despite their growth, the organization saw lower live event ticket sales, with 56 fewer events and lower average attendance overall. The news comes amid the sudden departure of co-presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson in late January.

Last year saw sluggish sales for a handful of events, including its annual Stomping Grounds pay-per-view event in June, where parts of the venue were reportedly covered in tarps. Additionally, the WWE returned to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for the first time in a decade, but failed to sell out its Raw and SmackDown Live shows.

WWE is reportedly looking to reshape the WWE Network, which could help boost sales.

WWE Ticket Sales Reach Historic Low Leading Up To WrestleMania