After a successful WrestleMania last weekend, Philadelphia is planning to put itself in the mix to host more events in the futureGetty Images
After delivering a "phenomenal," record-breaking 40th iteration of WrestleMania the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau plans to petition to bring WrestleMania back to the City of Brotherly Love in the near future, according to Emma Dooling of the PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL. PHL Sports Exec Dir Larry Needle said that the tourism organization will start conversations with the WWE in the "not too distant future" about bringing WrestleMania back to the city. He said that Philadelphia has set the bar for future host cities. WrestleMania 40 broke records in multiple categories, including event attendance, ticket sales, merchandise sales and social media and television viewership. Needle added that the event also taught the Convention and Visitors Bureau and its other tourism and hospitality partners "priceless" lessons that can be used in the preparations for 2026. That year, the region will host celebrations for the nation's 250th anniversary, the 2026 MLB All-Star Game and six matches for the FIFA World Cup. Needle: “We’re just going to need to build on this success and learn how to make it even bigger and better, because the magnitude for 2026 is only going to be increasing, and in many cases significantly.” Dooling noted one of the benefits to WrestleMania 40 was that it was a “multi-venue event that activated the Convention Center, the Wells Fargo Center and the Linc simultaneously.” To Needle, that was a “promising trial run for the city ahead of the events coming in 2026, which will also activate multiple areas of Philadelphia at once” (
PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/14).
