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By Cassandra Cousineau, LVSportsBiz.com WWE and Combat Sports Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Las Vegas knows a thing or two about hosting massive combat sports and entertainment spectacles.
And come April 19-20, TKO Group Holdings, Inc.– which owns Stamford, Connecticut-based World Wrestling Entertainment — is set to add another blockbuster to the mix with WrestleMania 41 at Allegiant Stadium.
The three-day combo tickets will be available starting Wednesday, Feb. 12. Also, a new fanfest-style activity, WWE World, is slated for the Las Vegas Convention Center to serve as the interactive hub for meet-and-greets and fan experiences.
With a full week of events leading up to the two-night sports and entertainment tentpole for the organization, WWE’s biggest annual event is shaping up to be a multi-million-dollar economic juggernaut for the city. WrestleMania 40 generated a record-breaking $21.6 million live gate in Lincoln Field in Philadelphia. Early projections suggest WrestleMania 41 could surpass that figure.
From a broadcast standpoint, WWE continues to expand its reach.
WrestleMania 40 delivered a record-breaking 1.3 million pay-per-view buys on Peacock and international platforms.
And with WWE’s move to Netflix in 2025, streaming revenues are expected to climb even further. Sponsorship revenue, which reached $20 million for WrestleMania 39, is also projected to rise with additional high-profile brand activations in Las Vegas.
But there’s a bigger picture as the growing ties between Las Vegas-based UFC and WWE under the TKO corporate banner grow closer.
There’s been plenty of chatter about an expansion of the UFC Apex facility to include a WWE annex. By using both brands under the same corporate umbrella, the gap between professional wrestling and mixed martial arts is shrinking.
And Las Vegas—long the fight capital of the world—is quickly becoming the epicenter of TKO’s combat sports empire.
“We want to be in the right city at the right time,” WWE President Nick Khan a Bonanza High School grad, said at the Vegas Chamber’s “Preview Las Vegas” event.
WWE’s history with Las Vegas goes back more than 30 years.
In 1993, WrestleMania IX took place at Caesars Palace, a venue that had hosted some of boxing’s most historic fights. That night, Shawn Michaels opened the show by retaining his Intercontinental Championship, while nearly 17,000 fans packed the outdoor venue for WWE’s first-ever WrestleMania in Vegas.
Beyond the stadium show, WWE is staging a weeklong takeover of the city with major events at T-Mobile Arena: Friday, April 18 – Friday Night SmackDown (USA Network) Saturday; April 19 – NXT Stand & Deliver Monday; April 21 – Monday Night Raw (Netflix debut).
More than 100,000 fans are expected across two nights at Allegiant Stadium, with a projected live gate that could rival or exceed WWE’s previous records.
With both UFC and WWE under TKO’s leadership, WrestleMania 41 isn’t just another big event in Las Vegas. It’s another step towards the convergence of sports entertainment and combat sports.