winson604
04-06-2010, 12:23 PM
Say what you will about WWE. I used to love it and have stopped watching it for years now but if it came i'm going fo sho. I've watched Wrestlemania 19 I think live in Seattle and it was the bomb.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming to Vancouver on June 12 after a protracted regulatory tussle at the municipal level that nearly saw the event cancelled at the zero hour, but fans of high octane sports entertainment ain't seen nothing yet. The WWE has confirmed there has been preliminary discussion with Vancouver interests to bring an upcoming WrestleMania event to the city.
WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman says the company has received a proposal to bring a WrestleMania event slated for 2012, '13 and '14 to B.C., but says the city, province and private interests would need to demonstrate that they are ready for the event in order for the process to move forward.
"We did receive a letter from an interested third party," Zimmerman said from the WWE's Stamford, Connecticut offices Monday. "We haven't received any official word from the city of Vancouver yet. They'd have to send correspondence that they're interested in doing something with us, then the city would have to meet our criteria to even submit a full bid."
A teleconference involving the Vancouver Athletic Commission, the Vancouver WrestleMania bid committee, and WWE representatives is tentatively scheduled for Friday. A final decision is due February 2011.
The cities in the running currently include Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Toronto, Detroit and New Orleans.
Previous WrestleMania events have drawn as many as 93,000 people in the U.S., and 67,000 to the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The move to bring the WWE to town started with local pro wrestling promoter Dave Teixeira, who stages Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) events at the Russian Community Centre in Vancouver and at Surrey's Bridgeview Hall when he's not engaging in his day job as a political consultant. Teixeira set up a Facebook group supporting a B.C.-based WWE event, gathered supporters, talked to some folks at City Hall to gauge municipal interest, and then took his case directly to the WWE.
"Unfortunately, there's not an 'office of bids' in Vancouver," says Teixeira, "so much like happened with the Police and Fire Games, it's left to interested people to say, 'We could do this', then gather the paperwork, talk to the people who would need to sign off on it, and then push the issue forward."
Teixeira says the WWE claims their events inject up to $50 million into local economies, based on past history.
"The event has only been held outside the U.S. twice before, both times in Toronto. And they're in the running again, so clearly there's something to it," he says.
Unlike most one-off sporting events, WrestleMania productions are akin to the Oscars and Superbowl in that the show unfolds over several days across a multitude of venues.
"What we're proposing is a multi-day event at different venues, with WrestleMania on the Sunday at BC Place for 55,000 people," Teixeira says, "while Thursday to the Sunday is basically a fan-fest where people can meet the wrestlers. They set up interactive displays, charitable events and autograph shows - that could be at the convention centre. Saturday evening they hold a Hall of Fame induction, so we're saying that could be the theatre bowl configuration of GM Place, which would hold about 6,000 people."
"And next day is a TV taping of Monday Night Raw, so we're saying we'd have that at GM place for 22,000 or so fans," he adds.
The Vancouver Athletic Commission has weighed in with support Teixeira's proposal, sending a letter to the WWE backing the bid.
"Over the years Vancouver has been host to many world-class events with one glaring exception, WrestleMania," the letter states. "It is now with great pride and privilege that the Vancouver Athletic Commission is prepared to assist the WrestleMania Vancouver Bid Committee in hopes of bringing this prestigious event to Vancouver the home of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Should you choose to bring WrestleMania to Vancouver we will be ready to process your event."
Zimmerman says the city of Vancouver would have to show it could handle the transportation, security, infrastructure, venue and accommodation demands of 70,000 people descending on the city. The recent Winter Olympic Games experience would suggest that shouldn't be a problem.
"We want to make sure there's an infrastructure that will ensure those people have a great WrestleMania experience, so the process is a long one and we need, first and foremost, to make certain the city wants us there," he says.
A planned seat fee of $1.00 per ticket has been proposed as part of bylaw changes scheduled to be discussed at Vancouver city council tuesday. That seat fee could bring the athletic commission $100,000 in funding over the course of a WrestleMania weekend.
But for Teixeira, there's an ulterior motive to his lobbying for the WWE to come to town. His ECCW shows could use some of the residual interest that a high profile wrestling event might bring.
"I'm of the philosophy that a rising tide raises all boats. Bringing the UFC here helps local MMA promotions, and bringing the WWE here on the grand stage would help local pro wrestling. We'd probably hold a show on the Saturday or Friday and hope to draw some tourists."
"More importantly, it solidifies our place as an entertainment capital, showcases a new venue with the new roof expected for 2011, and with the UFC, Grey Cup, whatever else, it's a nice way to build on the Olympics."
Professional wrestling has slumped in popularity in recent years, but the annual 'Superbowl of sports entertainment' continues to bring fans out of the woodwork in huge numbers, with the most recent WrestleMania, which took place on March 28 at the University of Phoenix stadium, drawing 72,000 people. It was the highest grossing event in the history of the venue and the third highest in the history of the WWE.
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/event+confirmed+Vancouver+chases+WrestleMania/2766348/story.html
The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming to Vancouver on June 12 after a protracted regulatory tussle at the municipal level that nearly saw the event cancelled at the zero hour, but fans of high octane sports entertainment ain't seen nothing yet. The WWE has confirmed there has been preliminary discussion with Vancouver interests to bring an upcoming WrestleMania event to the city.
WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman says the company has received a proposal to bring a WrestleMania event slated for 2012, '13 and '14 to B.C., but says the city, province and private interests would need to demonstrate that they are ready for the event in order for the process to move forward.
"We did receive a letter from an interested third party," Zimmerman said from the WWE's Stamford, Connecticut offices Monday. "We haven't received any official word from the city of Vancouver yet. They'd have to send correspondence that they're interested in doing something with us, then the city would have to meet our criteria to even submit a full bid."
A teleconference involving the Vancouver Athletic Commission, the Vancouver WrestleMania bid committee, and WWE representatives is tentatively scheduled for Friday. A final decision is due February 2011.
The cities in the running currently include Los Angeles, New York, Dallas, Toronto, Detroit and New Orleans.
Previous WrestleMania events have drawn as many as 93,000 people in the U.S., and 67,000 to the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
The move to bring the WWE to town started with local pro wrestling promoter Dave Teixeira, who stages Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) events at the Russian Community Centre in Vancouver and at Surrey's Bridgeview Hall when he's not engaging in his day job as a political consultant. Teixeira set up a Facebook group supporting a B.C.-based WWE event, gathered supporters, talked to some folks at City Hall to gauge municipal interest, and then took his case directly to the WWE.
"Unfortunately, there's not an 'office of bids' in Vancouver," says Teixeira, "so much like happened with the Police and Fire Games, it's left to interested people to say, 'We could do this', then gather the paperwork, talk to the people who would need to sign off on it, and then push the issue forward."
Teixeira says the WWE claims their events inject up to $50 million into local economies, based on past history.
"The event has only been held outside the U.S. twice before, both times in Toronto. And they're in the running again, so clearly there's something to it," he says.
Unlike most one-off sporting events, WrestleMania productions are akin to the Oscars and Superbowl in that the show unfolds over several days across a multitude of venues.
"What we're proposing is a multi-day event at different venues, with WrestleMania on the Sunday at BC Place for 55,000 people," Teixeira says, "while Thursday to the Sunday is basically a fan-fest where people can meet the wrestlers. They set up interactive displays, charitable events and autograph shows - that could be at the convention centre. Saturday evening they hold a Hall of Fame induction, so we're saying that could be the theatre bowl configuration of GM Place, which would hold about 6,000 people."
"And next day is a TV taping of Monday Night Raw, so we're saying we'd have that at GM place for 22,000 or so fans," he adds.
The Vancouver Athletic Commission has weighed in with support Teixeira's proposal, sending a letter to the WWE backing the bid.
"Over the years Vancouver has been host to many world-class events with one glaring exception, WrestleMania," the letter states. "It is now with great pride and privilege that the Vancouver Athletic Commission is prepared to assist the WrestleMania Vancouver Bid Committee in hopes of bringing this prestigious event to Vancouver the home of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. Should you choose to bring WrestleMania to Vancouver we will be ready to process your event."
Zimmerman says the city of Vancouver would have to show it could handle the transportation, security, infrastructure, venue and accommodation demands of 70,000 people descending on the city. The recent Winter Olympic Games experience would suggest that shouldn't be a problem.
"We want to make sure there's an infrastructure that will ensure those people have a great WrestleMania experience, so the process is a long one and we need, first and foremost, to make certain the city wants us there," he says.
A planned seat fee of $1.00 per ticket has been proposed as part of bylaw changes scheduled to be discussed at Vancouver city council tuesday. That seat fee could bring the athletic commission $100,000 in funding over the course of a WrestleMania weekend.
But for Teixeira, there's an ulterior motive to his lobbying for the WWE to come to town. His ECCW shows could use some of the residual interest that a high profile wrestling event might bring.
"I'm of the philosophy that a rising tide raises all boats. Bringing the UFC here helps local MMA promotions, and bringing the WWE here on the grand stage would help local pro wrestling. We'd probably hold a show on the Saturday or Friday and hope to draw some tourists."
"More importantly, it solidifies our place as an entertainment capital, showcases a new venue with the new roof expected for 2011, and with the UFC, Grey Cup, whatever else, it's a nice way to build on the Olympics."
Professional wrestling has slumped in popularity in recent years, but the annual 'Superbowl of sports entertainment' continues to bring fans out of the woodwork in huge numbers, with the most recent WrestleMania, which took place on March 28 at the University of Phoenix stadium, drawing 72,000 people. It was the highest grossing event in the history of the venue and the third highest in the history of the WWE.
http://www.vancouversun.com/sports/2010wintergames/event+confirmed+Vancouver+chases+WrestleMania/2766348/story.html