Coronavirus: Fans not allowed into Wrestlemania 36 after WWE shifts event to Orlando; will be live streamed
Guess Vince McMahon and Co are not going to let a deadly pandemic stop them from doing what they do best.
The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) released an official statement saying its upcoming Wrestlemania event, originally set to take place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida on April 5, has now been moved to the company's training facility in Orlando.
WWE has already rung in the changes by moving its weekly 'Raw' and 'SmackDown' television shows to the Performance Center in Orlando
"In coordination with local partners and government officials, WrestleMania and all related events in Tampa Bay will not take place," the WWE statement read.
"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, Florida to produce WrestleMania."
This means the event will take place without fan attendance, similar to UFC's Fight Night 170 in Brazil the past weekend, where there were no fans in the arena.
"Our community has waited 36 years to host WrestleMania and while we are saddened that this unforeseen situation has led us to today's announcement, this is totally the right call for the safety and security of everyone involved," a statement from Tampa Bay Local Organizing Committee read.
"A huge thank you to all of our local leaders and our friends at the WWE, as we collectively worked through the unprecedented fluidity of the last few weeks. The Team Tampa Bay-WWE partnership has never been stronger," the statement added.
According to MMA Mania, other pre-planned events, including NXT TakeOver and the WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, have been canceled (via CBS sports).
Wrestlemania is a highly-anticipated event with Brock Lesnar defending his WWE Championship against Drew McIntyre. Other major highlights include Goldberg vs Roman Reigns and John Cena vs "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.
WrestleMania 36 was expected to see a 70,000 crowd turnout. However, in light of the coronavirus outbreak and CDC's recommendations of not having a public gathering, this move comes across as a good option.
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