Annual Mania study – WM31 economic impact down from WM30, what is predicted for WM32?

WrestleMania 31, WWE’s biggest event of the year, generated less economic impact on the San Francisco Bay Area than last year’s WrestleMania in New Orleans.

However, WWE still generated an impressive figure of $139 million in economic impact in the California region. WM30 generated $142 million last year.

Both are up significantly from WM29 in New York/New Jersey ($101.2 million) and WM28 in Miami ($102.7 million).

The San Jose Mercury News reported initial details on the annual economic survey before WWE released the full study on Wednesday. The newspaper framed the results as a positive result before Levi’s Stadium hosts Super Bowl 50 in February.

“WrestleMania 31 was a good precursor to the Super Bowl with its weeklong festivities throughout the region,” said Jim Mercurio, the San Francisco 49ers’s vice president of stadium operations. “We have shared what we’ve learned with the NFL and the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee throughout the event planning process leading up to February.”

Two other figures reported by the newspaper are that 78 percent of the wrestling audience came from outside of the Bay Area. Also, 18 percent came from outside of the U.S.

Last year, 79 percent of WM30 attendees were from outside of New Orleans. That was up from 54 percent for N.Y./N.J. and 71 percent for Miami.

The conclusion is that the surge in economic impact for WM30 and WM31 is directly tied to the percentage of out-of-towners visiting the area, filling up hotel rooms, and spending money.

The overall economic impact was the equivalent of 1,218 full-time jobs in the area (down from 1,662 full-time jobs in New Orleans), $22 million on hotels & accommodations (close to $22.5 million in New Orleans), and $6.2 million at area restaurants (down from $10.7 million in New Orleans).

The Dallas Morning News also released a report that WWE is estimating $140 million of economic impact for WM32 next April in Dallas/Arlington, Texas.

The figure would fall in-between the past two Manias. It also seems bearish considering WWE is aiming for an attendance record that would draw 20,000+ more fans to AT&T Stadium than Levi’s Stadium drew earlier this year.

Tickets for WM32 go on-sale this week.

KEY METRICS

• WM31 Econ. Impact: $139 million
• WM30 Econ. Impact: $142.2 million
• WM29 Econ. Impact: $101.2 million
• WM28 Econ. Impact: $102.7 million