WWE sent out this press release after WWE WrestleMania 22:
WWE(R) To Hold WrestleMania(R) 23 At Ford Field In Detroit in 2007
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)—-World Wrestling Entertainment(R) has announced that it will present its cornerstone annual event, WrestleMania 23, on Sunday, April 1, 2007, at Ford Field in Detroit, Mich.
WrestleMania has become one of the most anticipated annual events around the world. On Sunday, April 2, WWE presented WrestleMania 22 at Rosemont’s Allstate Arena in Chicago, Ill., before a capacity crowd of more than 17,155 people from 16 countries and 43 states, generating $2.5 million in ticket sales, which set a record for the highest grossing one-day event in the arena’s history. Millions in more than 90 countries watched WrestleMania 22 on pay-per-view.
The return to Detroit will mark the 20th anniversary of WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome, an event that attracted 93,173 fans — recognized as the world indoor attendance record for any sports or entertainment event. The most anticipated match of the evening was Hulk Hogan defending his WWE Championship against the undefeated Andre the Giant. Hogan got the win after miraculously lifting Andre in the air and slamming him to the canvas in one of the most memorable moments in WWE history.
“I am really looking forward to bringing WrestleMania back to Detroit, an event that will draw thousands upon thousands of fans from across the United States and around the world to the Motor City,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman. “The fans in Detroit are sensational. I know that emotions will be high for WrestleMania 23, and we are going to put on one of the greatest WrestleMania’s of all-time, one that will rival the memories of WrestleMania III.”
Beyond the excitement of the event itself are the local economic benefits that communities experience from hosting WrestleMania. A study done during WrestleMania XX, held at Madison Square Garden in New York City on March 14, 2004, found that the event generated an estimated $13.5 million of new economic activity for New York City and created the equivalent of 96 full-year jobs. More than 50 percent of those jobs were in the hospitality sector. Spending related to WrestleMania also generated $2 million in city, state and federal taxes.
