WrestleMania Returning to Vegas After 32 Years
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) revealed on Saturday that the largest event in professional wrestling is set to take place in Las Vegas in 2025. WrestleMania XLI will grip Allegiant Stadium in a tight embrace across two nights, April 19 and 20.
This will mark the first time the annual event takes place in Sin City since it headlined Caesars Palace in 1993.
“Las Vegas is the sports and entertainment capital of the world,” Nick Khan, WWE president, is quoted as saying in Saturday’s press release. “Allegiant Stadium has proven to be even greater than the A+ venue Las Vegas guaranteed it would be.”
For many months, since Minnesota Sports and Events put in its proposal to host WrestleMania XLI, U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis has been its preferred site. On Feb. 9, though, Vital Vegas blogger Scott Roeben was the first to officially foresee Las Vegas instead.
Dedicated fans have been questioning the reason for the postponement of the announcement. Almost a month has gone by since this year's WrestleMania, normally the place for revealing next year's event.
A last-minute alteration is the most probable cause.
What’s the reason for 32 years?
Although WWE has been steadily expanding since 1993, when it was primarily a television event, the highest attendance at a Las Vegas venue has not increased.
Since 2007 — excluding the COVID-impacted years of 2020 and 2021 — venues with a capacity exceeding 65,000 have only held what is referred to as “The Showcase of Immortals.”
However, Las Vegas did not obtain a venue of that size until the Raiders constructed one in 2020. Allegiant Stadium was the venue for SummerSlam 2021, marking WWE’s first premium live event following a series of closed-door shows during the pandemic.
Since merging with the sports entertainment behemoth UFC under TKO Group Holdings last September, WWE has been increasingly drawn to Vegas.
WWE's initial formal crossover action involved moving its NXT Battleground developmental event from May 26 in Savannah, Ga., to the UFC Apex, the venue that hosts “UFC Fight Night” events, on June 9.
