WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, SummerSlam went to Indianapolis

WWE makes deal with Indiana for Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam

Thanks to WWE

Sports entertainment powerhouse WWE has entered into a broad, unique partnership that will bring three WWE stadium events, including WrestleMania, to Indianapolis, starting with the Royal Rumble on February 1, 2025.

Call it a triple coup (for Indiana) thanks to the creative success of “Triple H” Paul Levesque (the former wrestler who is now Chief Content Officer of WWE) and his team.

Under the deal with Indiana Sports Corp, which was unveiled on Monday, the wrestling promotion, part of TKO Group, will also host a two-night WrestleMania and a two-night SummerSlam in Indianapolis in coming years. The events are considered three of WWE’s “big four” premium live events of the year, with the fourth being Survivor Series.

Furthermore, within the framework of the partnership Raw, SmackDown, NXT and WWE live events will come from arenas across Indiana, including Indianapolis, Fort Wayne and Evansville.

Financial details were not disclosed, but sources say the deal carries the highest site fee ever for a WrestleMania and for a Royal Rumble.

Thanks to the success of its wrestling storylines with audiences, especially in the past year, WWE has seen high demand for its live shows and has been able to charge attendees higher fees. It has also allowed the company to charge venues and cities money to attract and host WWE events, making such venue fees a new growth opportunity.

TKO analyst Curry Baker wrote in January that “site costs are poised to become a significant contributor to live event revenues and profitability.” He argued that “this is an area that is already off to a strong start with the announcements from the UFC/Saudi and Australia/WWE.” The latter saw the Western Australian government bring WWE’s premium live event Elimination Chamber to Perth in February. “Management noted that the Perth event is the highest WWE site fee ever,” Baker pointed out.

“WrestlingMania, SummerSlam And Royal Rumble have a combined economic impact of more than $300 million as the events bring hundreds of thousands of people from all 50 states and dozens of countries around the world to the host city,” WWE said Monday. “To date, in 2024, WrestlingMania And Royal Rumble set WWE all-time records in viewership, gate, sponsorship, merchandise and social media.

Patrick Talty, president of Indiana Sports Corp, praised the “groundbreaking” partnership, saying: “For more than forty years, our city’s sports strategy has delivered millions of visitors and invaluable hours of international brand-building media coverage. This partnership with WWE continues to advance that strategy in new and exciting ways.”

Founded in 1979, Indiana Sports Corp has brought hundreds of events, including Super Bowl XLVI, to the state. “In total, these events have resulted in more than $4 billion in direct spending in the community,” the organization said.

“Indianapolis is a fantastic city for major events and we are excited to invite the WWE Universe to Lucas Oil Stadium for Royal Rumble in 2025, and a future SummerSlam and WrestleMania,” said Chris Legentil, WWE executive vp, talent relations & head of communications at WWE. “Patrick and the team at Indiana Sports Corp have done a phenomenal job strengthening the local economy and tourism, and we are proud to partner with them to shine a light on the great state of Indiana.”