The WWE Royal Rumble was a roaring success in the Sunshine City. Even before official numbers were released, you could see the entire downtown St. Pete area flooded with wrestling fans visiting restaurants/bar around Tropicana Field ahead of the record-breaking event. Nearly 50,000 people piled into the Trop for the Royal Rumble in January, and another ~12,000 stuck around to catch RAW the following Monday at AMALIE Arena in Tampa. Numbers released from the company show that the event generated $47,047,401 for the county.
Roughly 48,044 wrestling fans piled into Tropicana Field, and attendees represented all 50 states and 40 different countries. A new report calculates $28,337,38 in direct spending, with $2,923,664 in taxes generated.
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Royal Rumble provides huge boost for local businesses
The atmosphere in downtown St. Pete was unlike any I’ve experienced in a long time. Costumed WWE diehards, and casual fans just looking to enjoy a big event in town lit up the Sunshine City with their enthusiasm. This marquee event is one of the “big 4” for WWE. Currently, the company is selling out shows in cities across America as part of the new branded “Paul Levesque Era.” This new gold standard of success got its jump start here in St. Pete.
Businesses around the Trop also felt the love. There was a 25% increase in attendance the day after Royal Rumble at The Imagine Museum in the Grand Central District. Green Bench Brewing had a 10%-15% increase from normal Saturday operations.
PSTA enjoys major increase in ridership
The SunRunner enjoyed a 95% increase in ridership on the day of the event. The BRT service has a stop right outside Tropicana Field. Ferg’s Sports Bar, which has a mural covered tunnel that leads from Central Avenue to Tropicana Field, did 7 times the business of a normal Saturday, according to the report.
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Fabrica Pizza, just a few bocks from Tropicana, reports that its sales were double that of last year during the same weekend on both Friday, Jan. 26, and Sat., Jan. 27. The Vinoy Renaissance Hotel was also operating at about 90% capacity through the weekend.
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