WrestleMania 28 Coming To Miami
MIAMI (CBS4) -South Florida is going to be getting ready to rumble in March of 2012. World Wrestling Entertainment awarded WrestleMania 28 to South Florida and will hold the annual event at Sun Life Stadium next year.
"Miami, it's going to be the Biggest show you've ever seen, and that's a promise," WWE wrestler the Big Show said Wednesday.
The official announcement Wednesday afternoon drew South Florida icons like Emilio Estefan and Dan Marino out to celebrate next year's event.
South Florida put the smackdown on cities like Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York and Toronto in order to host WrestleMania.
WrestleMania, first held in 1985, has become a tourist attraction bringing in people from around the world to the annual event.
The event has set attendance records in almost every stadium it's been held at throughout the years. WrestleMania III in Detroit holds the record for largest indoor attendance ever as 93,173 fans packed the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit.
"It's sort of like the Super Bowl, combined with a Broadway play, maybe a little demolition derby in there, maybe a little Disney on Ice; it's a combination of so many things," said WWE chairman Vince McMahon.
In addition to the actual pay-per-view event, there will be a week-long list of activities leading up to the Sunday event. WrestleMania was held just three years ago in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando and that event set a stadium attendance record with 74,635 fans.
"We're broadcast all over the world and everyone who watches our show knows that WrestleMania is our event, it's our marquee event," said WWE wrestling star John Cena. "So if they're going to go to one; if they're going to save up their money and go to one, they're going to make a week out of it and come to WrestleMania."
This will be the third WrestleMania held outdoors and only the second WrestleMania held in the state of Florida.
The event has become a cash cow for communities that rivals the Super Bowl. Fans from around the world descend on a city for the week of activities leading up to the event. Last year, fans from every state and 26 other countries helped the event gross more than $5 million for just the WrestleMania show itself.
According to the WWE, over the past three years WrestleMania has generated a combined $150 million for the host cities in the form of tourism and jobs.
Miami was a finalist for the WrestleMania 27, but lost to Atlanta.
WWE officials cited international appeal, facilities, airports, and experience hosting hundreds of other large events as reasons why they chose Miami to host WrestleMania 28.
The event will feature all of the top stars in the WWE including: John Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, and the Undertaker to name a few. It will also bring in celebrities as past WrestleMania's have attracted: Pete Rose, Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Donald Trump.
