WrestleMania moving to empty studio in Orlando

WrestleMania 36, expected to draw millions in revenue to the Tampa Bay area next month, will instead be held in an empty studio in Orlando.

The WWE’s annual spectacle, a weeklong series of events scheduled at Raymond James Stadium, Amalie Arena and other venues, is being downsized and fans are being kept away because of coronavirus and limits placed on public gatherings, the WWE announced in a release on Monday evening.

“In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place,” according to the release. “However, WrestleMania will still stream live on Sunday, April 5, at 7 pm ET on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view. Only essential personnel will be on the closed set at WWE’s training facility in Orlando to produce WrestleMania.”

Orlando hosted WrestleMania twice before, in 2008 and 2017, but never like this. In 2017, WrestleMania week brought $161 million to the local economy with a Hall of Fame ceremony and multiple live wrestling events.

The WWE Performance Center in east Orlando has been the company’s main training facility since it opened in 2013. It was never intended as a performance space; however, the wrestling promotion’s Smackdown, Raw and NXT TV shows have aired from there during the past week.

WrestleMania annually brings wrestling fans and smaller promotions from around the world for some of their biggest shows of the year. Many promoters had already canceled their Tampa events while others were waiting on WWE’s final decision.