by Donald Wood
Last updated: 11:00 AM ET, Mon March 30, 2015
PHOTO: Wrestlemania 27 was held in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. (Photo via Wikipedia)
Sunday night featured the 2015 edition of World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania pay-per-view at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and the event broke the attendance record for the building and also became the highest grossing live event in wrestling history.
According to a press release from WWE, the company helped fill Levi's Stadium with an astounding 76,976 wrestling fans from all 50 states and 40 countries. The mass of humanity packed into the facilities also helped the WWE earn an incredible $12.6 million.
For a frame of reference, the previous attendance record for Levi's Stadium-opened in 2014-was 70,799. In addition, WWE's previous record for gross revenue was $12.3 million from the 2013 version of WrestleMania at MetLife Stadium.
When asked about what WrestleMania means to the Bay Area, Santa Clara Mayor Jamie Matthews spoke via a press release, "On behalf of the cities of Santa Clara and San Jose, we would like to thank all the fans that came from around the world to be part of WrestleMania 31. We congratulate both WWE and Levi's Stadium on their historic achievement."
One aspect of WrestleMania taking place in the San Francisco area that can't fully be understood for several weeks will be the overall economic impact on the area from the influx of wrestling fans arriving for the PPV. From hotels to meals to transportation, the people attending the WWE shows were dumping their money into the local economy.
According to WWE.com, the company generated an astounding $142 million for the New Orleans region during last year's WrestleMania week. With a cadre of events that also includes WrestleMania Axxess, the WWE Hall of Fame and other attractions each year, the numbers in Santa Clara should be just as impressive when they are officially released.
Add in the fact that Monday's episode of the company's flagship weekly television program, Raw, will take place at the SAP Center in San Jose, and the impact of the WWE on the local economy is leaving a lasting impression.
As for what's next on the agenda for WWE, the next PPV will be Extreme Rules on Sunday, April 26 at the Allstate Arena in Chicago. For those looking forward to the next WrestleMania, the 2016 edition of the show will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, when the company will once again look to set attendance and revenue records.
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