WWE WrestleMania 40 coming to Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly in 2024
WrestleMania 40 will take place over two nights on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philly, are you ready?
The City of Brotherly Love will become the epicenter of sports entertainment when WWE brings WrestleMania 40 to Lincoln Financial Field in 2024.
WWE, along with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau and Mayor Jim Kenney made the announcement Wednesday morning.
WrestleMania 40 will take place over two nights on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7.
In addition to the main attraction, WWE will also be hosting its Friday Night Smackdown telecast on Friday, April 5 and its Monday Night Raw broadcast on Monday, April 8 from the Wells Fargo Center.
There will also be a Hall of Fame Ceremony at the Wells Fargo Center. Usually, the Hall of Fame occurs the night before WrestleMania.
Fan events will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Plus, WWE says it will hold multiple community outreach events, including hospital visits and bullying prevention rallies in the region.
"We are proud to welcome WWE fans from around the world to Philadelphia to be a part of the historic 40th WrestleMania in 2024," Mayor Kenney said. "The week-long series of events will help put a global spotlight on our great city while also generating a major impact for our local economy."
In 2018, WWE brought its Royal Rumble event to Philadelphia. At that time, Mayor Kenney told the WWE that he would love for them to come back to the city, but for a WrestleMania.
"We hope you'll keep coming back to Philadelphia for many more shows in the years to come. I'd love to host WrestleMania. I'd love to host WrestleMania. Really would love to host WrestleMania," Kenney said at the time.
It took a few years, but the WWE has - to use a popular term in the business these days - acknowledged Philadelphia and made it official.
"On behalf of WWE, we are thrilled to bring WrestleMania back to the City of Brotherly Love," WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John Saboor said. "We thank all of our local partners who were integral in making this long-awaited return a reality."
This past April, WrestleMania 38 was held at AT&T Stadium, which generated a record $206.5 million for the Dallas/Arlington region, according to the WWE. It featured the return of Cody Rhodes, celebrities Logan Paul and Johnny Knoxville and Roman Reigns defeating Brock Lesnar in the main event.
A total of 156,352 fans from all 50 states and 53 countries attended the live event.
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Philadelphia last hosted a WrestleMania back in 1999, when the Wells Fargo Center was the First Union Center. The main event that night: Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock.
"Philadelphia is excited to host WrestleMania for the first time in 25 years," Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau President & CEO Gregg Caren said. "The combination of Philadelphia's passionate fans joining forces with WWE's worldwide fan base will create an incredible electricity throughout the city for the events at Lincoln Financial Field, Wells Fargo Center and the Pennsylvania Convention Center."
WWE has recently been in the headlines after announcing chairman and CEO Vince McMahon retired amid an investigation into alleged hush money payments. His daughter Stephanie McMahon has taken over as chairwoman. She and executive Nick Khan share the CEO role.
More details on WrestleMania will be coming in the future, WWE officials said.
And just in case you were wondering, the average temperature for Philadelphia on those April days is 64 degrees.
