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FOX 13 News in Tampa Bay, Florida, published an article on the WrestleMania 36 situation.
As noted, the WrestleMania situation appears to be up in the air at the moment due to the coronavirus, and WWE issued a statement this week on putting “contingency plans in place” if the event is cancelled by government officials.
According to the report from FOX 13 in Tampa, WWE and Hillsborough County are in a “standoff” regarding the fate of WrestleMania. A number of recent sporting and entertainment events have recently been cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller hoped that Vince McMahon and WWE will make the call on WrestleMania soon, otherwise, city officials will make the call for them. Miller stated on the subject, “I’m hoping that Vince McMahon and WrestleMania and WWE make the call themselves but a week from now, if they’ve not done that and we’re still in the situation we’re in, we’ll probably have to pull the plug on that.”
A statement from WWE read, “While we remain committed to hosting WrestleMania at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, April 5, we are putting contingency plans in place in the event that it is canceled by government officials, civil authorities and/or local venues.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister cautioned that public safety needs to come first in the matter. He said on the matter, “I commend every sports franchise for erring on the side of caution. I hope the WWE follows suit. I don’t ever want to see people put profit over public safety.”
According to figures from WWE, WrestleMania was expected to bring $150 million in economic impact to the city in April. Other events that were taking place that same week from smaller promotions are also in jeopardy. Also, Mayor Jane Castor weighed in, “With COVID-19, the issue with it is the ease with which it’s transmitted, so bringing groups of people is the last thing we can do.”
As noted, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called for a ban on all public events for the next 30 days earlier this week.
Per the FOX 13 report, local officials told the outlet that they will make a decision on WrestleMania 36 in one week if WWE doesn’t. You can see a video report from FOX 13 on the story below:
