Tampa WrestleMania to be held at 36 percent capacity

TAMPA – The WrestleMania event next month at Raymond James Stadium will be held at 36 percent capacity to meet health and safety guidelines.

Approximately 25,000 seats will be made available for each night of the April 10-11 event, which has been spread over two nights to allow more fans to participate. In a normal year, Raymond James would be able to maintain a maximum of 70,000 fans for WrestleMania, counting the seats on the floor.

WWE has worked with local partners and government officials on security protocols. The capacity for the event will be almost the same as last month’s Super Bowl, which was held at 38% capacity, although this crowd included 7,500 vaccinated health workers.

The health and safety protocols at WrestleMania will be similar to those enacted in the Super Bowl, including seat pods, social detachment, wearing a mandatory mask, temperature checks, health checks, cashless concessions and mobile tickets. Free masks will be provided at the entrance.

The launch of tickets planned for Tuesday has been postponed because the organizers have defined the final plans for the event. Tickets will now go on sale at 10am on Friday through Ticketmaster. Fans interested in a pre-sale starting on Thursday at 10 am can register at www.wrestlemania.com/presale.

Prices range from $ 35- $ 2,500. Two-day packages will be available.

Unconfirmed reports emerged last week that WWE was working to fill Raymond James with 75 percent of its capacity for WrestleMania.

As the coronavirus vaccine is launched, teams are reopening their locations and expanding their seating capacity. On Monday, UFC President Dana White announced that the UFC 261 event next month at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville will be open to a crowd of 15,000.

The Bucs played their home games at Raymond James at 25 percent capacity. The Lightning opened the Amalie Arena this month to a maximum of 3,800 fans per game, 20% of its hockey capacity. The Rays plan to allow 9,000 fans at Tropicana Field, reopening the upper deck to allow for better social distance.

WWE awarded this year’s WrestleMania to Tampa after last year’s event was moved to a closed set at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando because of the pandemic.

Contact Eduardo A. Encina at [email protected]. Follow @EddieInTheYard.