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Pro wrestling is officially returning to Indianapolis, and it’s ready to put on some big shows.
World Wrestling Entertainment and the Indiana Sports Corp. on Monday confirmed they have struck a deal to bring WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam to the city over the next eight years.
IBJ first reported on the agreement on Friday, and at that time an agreement had not been finalized.
The parties have since agreed to principal terms for the deal—the first WWE has ever struck with a local sports commission in the United States.
The deal will include WrestleMania, which has taken place in Indianapolis only once before in 1992, and SummerSlam, which the city last hosted in 2008. The city will also host Royal Rumble for the first time on Feb. 1, 2025. All three shows will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium and are collectively expected to generate at least $350 million in local spending.
“We are excited to bring this groundbreaking partnership to Indianapolis and our state,” Patrick Talty, president of Indiana Sports Corp, said in written remarks. “For over four decades, our city’s sports strategy has brought in millions of visitors and priceless hours of international brand-building media coverage. This partnership with WWE continues to push that strategy forward in new and exciting ways. We look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our community and state and showing them all that Indy has to offer.”
The partnership will also consist of multiple WWE events per year for the city, including a mix of Smackdown, Monday Night Raw, pay-per-view events and non-televised “house” shows held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
The agreement will also create more events in other Indiana markets like Fort Wayne and Evansville, the latter of which will host Monday Night Raw on Sept. 30 as part of a separate agreement.
Financial terms of the deal between the Indiana Sports Corp. and WWE have not been disclosed, although Talty confirmed the organization used a portion of the state’s tourism bid fund to secure the commitment.
The deal between the two organizations is among the most comprehensive ever struck by the professional wrestling kingpin. In 2018, the company signed a long-term deal with Saudi Arabia to host events in the country through 2028; that deal could be renewed in the coming years to include flagship productions like Royal Rumble or WrestleMania.
“Indianapolis is a fantastic city for major events and we’re excited to invite the WWE Universe to Lucas Oil Stadium for Royal Rumble in 2025, and a future SummerSlam and WrestleMania,” Chris Legentil, WWE executive vice president of talent relations and communications said. “Patrick [Talty] and the team at Indiana Sports Corp have done a phenomenal job bolstering local economics and tourism, and we’re proud to partner with them to shine a light on the great state of Indiana.”
The announcement came as the WWE prepared to host its Raw event Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indianapolis has hosted several live WWE events dating to the early 1990s, most recently the 2023 Fastlane premium live event at Gainbridge Fieldhouse that drew a crowd of more than 14,500 and featured Pat McAfee teasing the crowd that Indianapolis “deserved a WrestleMania.” This deal was already well in the works at the time of that show.
WrestleMania, the two-day flagship event of WWE, will likely provide a major tourism boost for central Indiana.
The 1992 show in Indianapolis, a one-day affair featuring headliners Sid Justice, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Randy Savage, drew 62,167 people to the Hoosier Dome. WrestleMania became a two-day event starting in 2020.
According to SportsTravel Magazine, an industry trade publication, WrestleMania alone injects about $200 million annually into the economy of its host city and draws crowds of 120,000 to 150,000 people, a mix of local traffic and visitors. The economic impact figure includes the event itself as well as numerous ancillary wrestling shows that often to take place across the city in connection to—but independent from—WWE’s event.
WrestleMania, which is generally held in early to mid-April, has taken place outside the Midwest for more than 15 years, with the last such event in the region in Detroit in 2007. The 2025 shows are set for Las Vegas, with expectations of drawing as many as 180,000 visitors.
But hosting the event is a costly endeavor as well, with some economists pegging the price tag for host cities at about $20 million, with most of the cost tied to added security and road controls, discounts on stadium rentals and other spaces, and tax or financial incentives offered to entice WWE to select the city as a host.
Talty said discussions are still under way about who will foot the costs for the event, including the role Indiana Sports Corp. and other organizations may have in fundraising efforts.
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In 1992 you had a state local wrestling hero the Ultimate Warrior there also.
A big “huh?” if this is being called a sport in any way, shape, or form. Entertainment, scripted entertainment…yes, THAT I get. I suppose this event announcement about an alleged form of wrestling makes for some nice economic news.
This is going to come as a brutal shock, but Reality Shows are also scripted…:
WWE is a huge entertainment enterprise. Been around for about 50 years now. Are you seriously still squabbling about calling it wrestling?
It is a very nice economic win
Hardly what I would call a “world class” event (compared to last week’s Olympic swinning trial which drew more than a quarter million spectators). Officials need to be transparent about the total dollars (city and state) to subsidize this so-called “entertainment.”
Brent – good thing you aren’t the one defining “world class”. It’s absolute world class level as far as economic impact. These are huge events with a massive fan base.
Exactly. I would understand it more if the IRT was involved … not the Indiana Sports Corp. The WWE has as much in common with “sport” as, Reality TV shows have in common with “reality” (in a nod to Chuck W., though I’m not certain I get the “brutal shock” to Daniel B., or his point … we’re squabbling about calling the WWE “a sport.”).
“World class” is very subjective; it means something different to everybody who says it. I’m not a fan of the WWE, but let’s not be elitist.
From the perspective of Indy’s tourism industry, these WWE events will have a ‘world class’ financial impact.
The Olympic trials brought a lot of people to Lucas Oil Stadium, but the reality is that outside of swim clubs & swimmers’ families, a lot of spectators for events like Swimming Olympic Trials are local. Further, only half the stadium was used; ticket prices were relatively low; and there weren’t many peripheral events. It was great to host and “world class” in its own right, but very different.
The WWE rarely hosts any events in the Midwest & they are a huge draw to WWE fans across the US. These events will keep Indy’s hotels booked with out-of-towners; drive a ton of additional restaurant sales (locals eat at home); and will lead to 3 sell outs of Lucas Oil while drawing high ticket prices. The economic impact of the three events combined probably be similar to (or greater than) what is expected of Taylor Swift’s last three Eras tour concerts in November.
And no, I’m not a fan of the WWE or Taylor Swift. The former is objectively scripted and the latter makes money through putting on a relatable persona rather than through pure talent. But y’know, we don’t have to like everything that’s good for us.