MINNEAPOLIS — Whether or not you consider professional wrestling a sport or scripted entertainment, there is no denying that WrestleMania is an economic heavyweight for any city that hosts it.
"It is on par with a Super Bowl or Final Four," said Kevin Kurtr, communications manager for Meet Minneapolis. "It's the type of event that makes a huge impact on a city."
Though WrestleMania has been a pay-per-view behemoth for decades, selling out stadiums across the United States, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has grown its marquee event that now fills NFL stadiums over two consecutive nights, while also drawing fans to other events and activations that fill convention centers and arenas over several days.
"It's truly a city-wide event," Kurtt said. "Bringing those sorts of events here, that's huge, that sort of economic impact, it extends beyond the borders of the venue, out into the city at large."
While Meet Minneapolis would love to see what that impact could mean for the local economy in 2025, Minnesota Sports and Events is the group that bid to host and so far all that is known is that Minneapolis is on the shortlist.
The official announcement is expected in the next few weeks because the WWE typically unveils host information during WrestleMania events, which are held in Philadelphia during the first week of April this year.
"I'm really excited," said Lorna Beard, a long-time professional wrestling fan from Minneapolis. "I'm ready for it. It's got to hurry up and get here. I want to get front-row tickets."
Ticket prices and accessibility to all of those events are a hallmark of the event that has helped drive the popularity of WrestleMania.
According to Minnesota Sports and Events, the economic impact of last year's WrestleMania in Los Angeles was roughly $235 million. In comparison, the Men's final four here was $145 Million.
"I do believe that," said Brenda Nolen, of Minneapolis, who considers herself a former wrestling fan but would consider checking out the event. "You've got little ones, middle (aged) ones, old ones. Everybody loves it, you know what, and they go back."
Watch more Breaking The News:
Watch all of the latest stories from Breaking The News in our YouTube playlist: