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Fans are returning to sports. Slowly but surely, the stands of events are filling with passionate supporters once again. Orlando has been at the heart of sports’ response to the pandemic, from the NBA bubble and MLS being played at Disney to the Capitol Wrestling Center. Now, Floridian venues could facilitate a larger scale route back to events such as Wrestlemania 37.
Raymond James Stadium to host in 2021?
Wrestlemania 36 was due to be held at Florida’s Raymond James Stadium, but the shutdown forced a re-think. Now, reports suggest that the Tampa venue could be set to host the jewel is professional wrestling’s crown sooner than originally planned. The sunshine state’s approach to crowds at sports events has seen it develop as the frontrunner to host the 37th edition, displacing Los Angeles’ SoFI Stadium in the process. It’s now thought that LA will be the venue for the 2022 event, pending further developments.
2020 did see Wrestlemania take place. The event was filmed “behind closed doors” at the WWE Performance Center and aired across two days in April. Betting favourite Drew McIntyre beat Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Championship in day two’s main event. The odds makers were off target when it came to Becky Lynch’s clash with Shayna Baszler though, as the +125 underdog came out on top against the -163 market favorite. Regardless of the venue, bookmakers that operate in NJ will have odds and betting markets available prior to major events including the Royal Rumble, Summerslam and more.
Florida drops restrictions but WWE are starting small
A spokesman for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed that the state was now in phase three of its re-opening and that certain restrictions are no longer in place. As well as restrictions around theme parks and public gatherings being lifted, sports events were no longer mandated in how many people they could admit. As such, sports venues including Raymond James Stadium would be permitted to operate at 100% capacity. In theory, that could pave the way for crowds as large as 65,000 in Tampa in the coming months.
Although grand plans might be afoot for showpiece events, the WWE are keeping things small when it comes to live audiences – for now. The company debuted the Capitol Wrestling Center at NXT Takeover 31 last month, with around 100 people in attendance. These were made up of company talent, friends and family, plus fans. There was also the now-familiar look of video walls surrounding the venue, allowing fans to be part of the event remotely.
NFL cautious in welcoming back fans
Although they’ve been given the green light, the Miami Dolphins remain cautious in the numbers of spectators in attendance at Hard Rock Stadium. Dolphins CEO Tom Garfinkel explained that the current 16,000 allocation – just 20 per cent of the available 65,000 seats – will remain in place for the time being. Neither the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Jacksonville Jaguars are planning to increase capacity at the time of writing. The Dolphins have three consecutive home games beginning on December 6, which could provide further clues as to any potential increases in the number of fans allowed to attend.
As well as Wrestlemania, Raymond James Stadium is set to host Super Bowl LV, scheduled for February 7 2021. The current plan is for 20% of the venue to be full with mandatory masks and social distancing in place. While it seems extremely unlikely that a full stadium will be in attendance for the WWE just two months later, such high-profile events will provide a guide to how many fans will be able to see The Showcase of the Immortals in person.