As WWE gears up for WrestleMania this weekend, the biggest annual event for the professional wrestling organization, data shows that its appearance in Las Vegas last year had an economic impact worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Parent company TKO said Wednesday that recent studies conducted by research firm Applied Analysis show that the two-day premium live event had an economic impact of $322.2 million, with wrestling fans traveling from all over the U.S. and abroad to spend money on hotels, restaurants, shops and at other businesses.
WWE organizes activities on the days surrounding WrestleMania as well, like meet and greets with wrestlers, its Hall of Fame ceremony and matches for weekly television shows “Smackdown” and “Raw”, giving people more reasons to spend their money on a dayslong trip.
For Las Vegas, hosting WrestleMania for the second straight year is a way to entice visitors to the city as it contends with shifting trends in tourism. Las Vegas saw its fewest visitors in four years during 2025, and Strip gaming revenue rose less than 1%, according to statistics released in January.
Last year’s WrestleMania brought 124,693 fans across two nights to Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.
TKO Group said that 85.4% of attendees traveled to Las Vegas specifically for last year’s WrestleMania. Among attendees, 22% were international and 90.2% were not local residents, according to data from research firm Applied Analysis.
Jefferies’ Randal Konik said in a recent analyst note that WrestleMania generated about $66 million in ticket sales for the two-night event, based on Pollstar data. Average ticket prices were about $635, which was almost double from the prior year’s WrestleMania.
“WrestleMania 41’s performance highlights the strength and strategic importance of WWE as a core asset within TKO,” Konik wrote.
This year WrestleMania will be getting the big-event treatment from ESPN. Some of its matches include undisputed WWE champion Cody Rhodes defending his title against Randy Orton and CM Punk putting his World Heavyweight title on the line against Roman Reigns.
The event, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday at Allegiant Stadium, will have coverage on “SportsCenter” beginning Thursday, and “First Take” will originate from Las Vegas on Friday.
It will be streamed on the ESPN app for the first time. However, the opening hour on Saturday will air on ESPN2, while Sunday’s first hour will air on ESPN. The start time for both nights is 6 p.m. EDT.
ESPN began airing WWE premium live events on the ESPN Unlimited streaming service last September. Most major cable, satellite, and streaming services have reached agreements with Disney that include an ESPN Unlimited subscription as a part of their TV plan.
This will mark the first time part of the main card will air on linear television. The first WrestleMania took place in 1985 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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