WM 30 venue choice

[Boo!]

Am I the only one who thinks the choice of venue was a little strange?

I know they've never done a WM there before but the area has never before struck me as a 'hotbed' for wrestling. Unlike say the north-east or Florida or the west cost or Chicago or Toronto, or elsewhere. I'm not saying it won't be a hot crowd and a great event. During the peak years (1985-1991) I think they only did one or two major cards there and during the Attitude era it wasn't a city they returned to more than once a year, if that.

I'm surprised they didn't stick on home base for this. Especially given how the industry is in a lull at this point in time and took it back to the SkyDome or Florida or one of the other safety nets. I've nothing against New Orleans but I think they're banking a lot on the name selling the event. It could be a bit like WM in Phoenix where paid attendance fell about 20,000 short of what they had originally intended for and the attendance itself far below what they had anticipated. It could be the same here. Taking WM30 outside of their comfort-zone/safety net is a bit of a risky thing to do.

[Sparkybob]

Meh New Orleans gives people in the south west territories like Texas/Florida/Georgia a shot to go there for cheap while also getting the usual people from Europe and the North east.

[BorneAgain]

I'm still a slightly disappointed they didn't go with MSG, though I understand given how much money they'll make at the Superdome. Maybe they can pull a WM 2 and compromise; do simultaneous WM events, with the people they care about at the Superdome and then another one in New York for all the guys who work all year all round and yet will having nothing to do come April 6.

The children's table of Wrestlemanias if you will.

[1 Free Moon-Down with Burger]

I'm just glad it won't be freezing god damn cold.

[Error]

It was a pretty big spot for Mid South/Watts's UWF back in the 80's with the Superdome holding several major cards if I am remembering my history correctly. Plus it is easy to sell a trip to the Big Easy to tourists.

[Boo!]

Just for the biggie, the granddaddy's granddaddy - WM30, why not go somewhere that either means something to Wrestlemania or a significant wrestling city.

The list is endless

Montreal
Toronto
New York
New Jersey
Tampa
Chicago
Detroit
Houston
Los Angeles
Philadelphia

...and so on. It just seems strange for New Orleans to be the one who gets the big event when New Orleans isn't and never has been a 'wrestling' town. Like announcing that you're holding you vegetarian child's 12th birthday at Burger King. I'm sure it'll be nice and all but there are so many places it could be held that would have seemed more appropriate.

I mentioned the last time they went to a 'non-wrestling' area for a WM back in 2010 and they struggled to sell tickets and the crowd was damned awful. I don't mean to rag on New Orleans here but isn't there a good chance that might happen again this time? There has to be reasons why they've never considered this to be a city on the radar during either boom period.

[saintpat]

Nov 12, 2013 21:13:56 GMT -5 Boo! said:

Just for the biggie, the granddaddy's granddaddy - WM30, why not go somewhere that either means something to Wrestlemania or a significant wrestling city.

The list is endless

Montreal
Toronto
New York
New Jersey
Tampa
Chicago
Detroit
Houston
Los Angeles
Philadelphia

...and so on. It just seems strange for New Orleans to be the one who gets the big event when New Orleans isn't and never has been a 'wrestling' town. Like announcing that you're holding you vegetarian child's 12th birthday at Burger King. I'm sure it'll be nice and all but there are so many places it could be held that would have seemed more appropriate.

I mentioned the last time they went to a 'non-wrestling' area for a WM back in 2010 and they struggled to sell tickets and the crowd was damned awful. I don't mean to rag on New Orleans here but isn't there a good chance that might happen again this time? There has to be reasons why they've never considered this to be a city on the radar during either boom period.

New Orleans is one of the most fun cities in the world. Sooo much to do, great restaurants, hotels at all prices, you can find somewhere to stay and walk to alot of different things. It is also a lot more affordable and accessible than many cities you mention.

That's why the Super Bowl keeps going back. I would think WWE is:

1) Trying to take it to different areas of the country -- so different groups of fans can participate

2) Wants to go somewhere with decent spring weather

3) Keeping it in cities that they think fans from abroad and from around the country will want to go to -- it's kind of a vacation thing for a lot of people

And the fact that it has a dome that can hold 70,000 or so, it seems to make perfect sense.

[molson5]

New Orleans is also a world-class convention destination. There's a reason they've hosted 10 super bowls. It's easy to get there from anywhere, they have an enormous tourist infrastructure, and I'm sure behind the scenes, the local politicians do a lot of wheeling and dealing to make it all worth it for everyone involved. It's going to be a huge party, all weekend, and nobody does a party on that grand a scale any better than New Orleans.

[Boo!]

But none of that really matters to the event. Take it outside the hotbeds and you increase the chances of a DUD crowd. For me that'll spoil the spectacle. If the crowd is awful and the stadium with thousands of empty seats the fact the weather is nice or people are using the event as an excuse for a long weekend away, won't really be of much consequence. The crowd plays such a big part in these things. Hence why when they go to New York or Toronto or similar there's the extra buzz because you know what the live crowd will add. You know you'll get a participative rather than passive audience.

WM, because of where it's at will perhaps not have that and for what on paper should be the biggest event in WWE history, I think that'll be a shame. Regardless of how cheap the hotels are. Besides I don't get why New Orleans is any more or less accessible than anywhere else.

[Boo!]

Nov 12, 2013 21:31:00 GMT -5 molson5 said:

New Orleans is also a world-class convention destination. There's a reason they've hosted 10 super bowls. It's easy to get there from anywhere, they have an enormous tourist infrastructure, and I'm sure behind the scenes, the local politicians do a lot of wheeling and dealing to make it all worth it for everyone involved. It's going to be a huge party, all weekend, and nobody does a party on that grand a scale any better than New Orleans.

But if it was such a party town why has it never been on the radar before?

There seems to be a huge disconnect between the two facts of this town being a lively, thriving, party town and the biggest wrestling promotions of the last 20 years ignoring it completely. If it really was a party town with great, enthusiastic crowds wouldn't they have had more events there?

Maybe it's a football area, I've no clue but for wrestling there has to be a reason why it's largely been avoided. And yet to go from that, to go from a wrestling irrelevance, almost, to hosting WM30 - I think that's a big risk for WWE. Especially when outside of a boom period.

[HisRoyalGreeness]

Nov 12, 2013 21:05:50 GMT -5 Error said:

It was a pretty big spot for Mid South/Watts's UWF back in the 80's with the Superdome holding several major cards if I am remembering my history correctly. Plus it is easy to sell a trip to the Big Easy to tourists.

My thoughts exactly. Living 30 min away from New Orleans, I can say there are a lot of wrestling fans here. It's become a hotbed in the entertainment industry in general, a big spot for tourism, and a damn fine place to celebrate a 30th anniversary. As someone who has waited 21 years for Wrestlemania to be in the Superdome I'm just going to say we deserve this. Also, how exactly has New Orleans been avoided? Aside from the fact that we've never hosted 'Mania we've hosted quite a few pay per views. Hell, I've been to a Monday Nitro that drew a good crowd at the Dome.

[WorkingInAColeMine]

Most people travel to Wrestlemania, New Orleans is one of the best cities in the US to travel to.

This isn't rocket science, there is a reason they also hold the Super Bowl there quite often.

Wrestlemania has way way way way way outgrown MSG.

[molson5]

Nov 12, 2013 21:38:25 GMT -5 Boo! said:

Nov 12, 2013 21:31:00 GMT -5 molson5 said:

New Orleans is also a world-class convention destination. There's a reason they've hosted 10 super bowls. It's easy to get there from anywhere, they have an enormous tourist infrastructure, and I'm sure behind the scenes, the local politicians do a lot of wheeling and dealing to make it all worth it for everyone involved. It's going to be a huge party, all weekend, and nobody does a party on that grand a scale any better than New Orleans.

But if it was such a party town why has it never been on the radar before?

There seems to be a huge disconnect between the two facts of this town being a lively, thriving, party town and the biggest wrestling promotions of the last 20 years ignoring it completely. If it really was a party town with great, enthusiastic crowds wouldn't they have had more events there?

Maybe it's a football area, I've no clue but for wrestling there has to be a reason why it's largely been avoided. And yet to go from that, to go from a wrestling irrelevance, almost, to hosting WM30 - I think that's a big risk for WWE. Especially when outside of a boom period.

There's only one wrestling event a year that's big enough for the Superdome, so the fact that the WWE hasn't gotten to it in the big arena era of wrestlemanias isn't some indictment on the city. We really don't know if they've been "on the radar" or not, they only do one wrestlemania a year. There's plenty of dome and football stadiums they haven't been to yet, I'm sure each decision comes to down to timing, schedule conflicts, negotiations with cities. It's indisputable that New Orleans is a major international tourist and convention hub.

Edit: And if your major concern is noise, per your previous post, there's a much better chance of a loud crowd inside a dome than in any outdoor venue. Wasn't that one of the complaints of the meadowlands and some of the outdoor arena Manias of recent years - the WWE hasn't quite figured out how to mic it? They won't have that problem inside. There also will probably be a lot fewer obstructed seats.

[WorkingInAColeMine]

Nov 12, 2013 22:27:49 GMT -5 molson5 said:

Nov 12, 2013 21:38:25 GMT -5 Boo! said:

But if it was such a party town why has it never been on the radar before?

There seems to be a huge disconnect between the two facts of this town being a lively, thriving, party town and the biggest wrestling promotions of the last 20 years ignoring it completely. If it really was a party town with great, enthusiastic crowds wouldn't they have had more events there?

Maybe it's a football area, I've no clue but for wrestling there has to be a reason why it's largely been avoided. And yet to go from that, to go from a wrestling irrelevance, almost, to hosting WM30 - I think that's a big risk for WWE. Especially when outside of a boom period.

There's only one wrestling event a year that's big enough for the Superdome, so the fact that the WWE hasn't gotten to it in the big arena era of wrestlemanias isn't some indictment on the city. We really don't know if they've been "on the radar" or not, they only do one wrestlemania a year. There's plenty of dome and football stadiums they haven't been to yet, I'm sure each decision comes to down to timing, schedule conflicts, negotiations with cities. It's indisputable that New Orleans is a major international tourist and convention hub.

They also weren't doing them in big venues for several years, and Katrina knocked New Orleans out of the picture for a few years.

[Urfarkendarf]

I think New Orleans was a fine choice. They did the NY/NJ thing with 29. The # doesn't even matter so much anymore and its likely going to be in stadiums for the foreseeable future.

To negate New Orleans as a "hotbed" for wrestling is a bit eh. They've had the thing twice in Detroit of all places. New Orleans is a great tourist city even post-Katrina. For anyone traveling from out of town, its a great place to have it. I've been to New Orleans several times and Id love to go to Wrestlemania there. I've been to a couple of Sugar Bowls.

New Orleans does big events extremely well. Believe me, anyone going to Mania from out-of-town will love going to the French Quarter when not involved in Wrestlemania events.

[Deleted]

Interestingly enough, the Superdome was one of the original choices for WrestleMania IV.

[Urfarkendarf]

The argument the OP is trying to make against New Orleans, is frankly, ridiculous.

[Boo!]

Nov 12, 2013 23:01:34 GMT -5 Urfarkendarf said:

The argument the OP is trying to make against New Orleans, is frankly, ridiculous.

So my argument that holding WM in a non-hotbed for WWE might negatively impact on ticket sales and atmosphere is 'ridiculous'?

Why then do we think it's a big deal when they return to places like New York or Philly? If being a hotbed doesn't add something to a show why is there always an extra buzz about big shows/events WWE run in these areas? It can't be both ways. It cannot be that we accept a WWE ppv in New York has that extra special ingredient but then say that it doesn't exist as they could hold it anywhere and it'll be the same. Wrestlemania 30 is a flagship event. IMO taking it to an audience outside your core base means you risk loosing something from the spectacle.

New Orleans may be fine but it's never been the most fertile ground. I just think it's a odd choice for the occasion, same as Phoenix was. Doesnt mean Phoenix isn't a nice place or warm or friendly or anything else, but it probably wasn't an ideal WM venue. Not because people in the area didn't deserve one but because by nature of it not being a 'hotbed' for the company the crowd were largely tepid. Maybe the crowd in NO will be top class but when you take an event of this magnitude outside where you KNOW it'll go down well to somewhere that is a bit off-the-radar in terms of your home turf, there's always that risk.

[Urfarkendarf]

Nov 12, 2013 23:56:40 GMT -5 Boo! said:

Nov 12, 2013 23:01:34 GMT -5 Urfarkendarf said:

The argument the OP is trying to make against New Orleans, is frankly, ridiculous.

So my argument that holding WM in a non-hotbed for WWE might negatively impact on ticket sales and atmosphere is 'ridiculous'?

Why then do we think it's a big deal when they return to places like New York or Philly? If being a hotbed doesn't add something to a show why is there always an extra buzz about big shows/events WWE run in these areas? It can't be both ways. It cannot be that we accept a WWE ppv in New York has that extra special ingredient but then say that it doesn't exist as they could hold it anywhere and it'll be the same. Wrestlemania 30 is a flagship event. IMO taking it to an audience outside your core base means you risk loosing something from the spectacle.

New Orleans may be fine but it's never been the most fertile ground. I just think it's a odd choice for the occasion, same as Phoenix was. Doesnt mean Phoenix isn't a nice place or warm or friendly or anything else, but it probably wasn't an ideal WM venue. Not because people in the area didn't deserve one but because by nature of it not being a 'hotbed' for the company the crowd were largely tepid. Maybe the crowd in NO will be top class but when you take an event of this magnitude outside where you KNOW it'll go down well to somewhere that is a bit off-the-radar in terms of your home turf, there's always that risk.

Your reasoning for calling it a "non-hotbed" is ridiculous. They've had it in Atlanta, Miami, Orlando - all relatively recently- none of these cities are WWE "hotbeds" and the gate was fine there. However, all 3 of those (except for maybe Atlanta) are huge tourist destinations. New Orleans is one of those. Its also a huge travel hub. Virtually every major airline, Amtrak, and even freaking cruise ships port there.

Wrestlemania sells itself. It really does not matter where its held. They've held the damn thing in Detroit twice. Who wants to go to Detroit the first week of April? Hell, who wants to go to PHILLY first week of April? New Orleans is one of the top destinations in this country for tourism. Don't you think there's a reason why major sports hold huge events there? The NFL has held off on holding the Super Bowl there recently because it took a huge hit when Katrina hit. That will be almost 9 years ago when Mania is there. College football has a huge game there every January. The Final Four has been there. Virtually any major sporting event in this country has been held in New Orleans at some point.

There are only a few places that can compare to New York and the others you mentioned in terms of wrestling fans and "buzz", and you still don't get it. Wrestlemania is no longer a local event. It doesn't just draw local fans. Hell, I was at 29 here in NJ and not one person in our immediate area was from NJ or NY. They were from Australia, England, California, and 3 guys from Canada. You're also forgetting how freaking close New Orleans is to populations with massive amounts of fans. Texas, Florida, and basically the entire south can get to New Orleans extremely easy.

Your reasoning for this silly argument does not hold water. Where do you even live? Have you ever been to New Orleans?

Take a look at where New Orleans is ranked in major publications US tourist destinations
travel.usnews.com/Rankings/best_usa_vacations/
www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2011/10/18/10-best-cities-for-weekend-vacations/
www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Destinations-cTop-g191

All 3 of those rank New Orleans high. They're not going to hold it in NY again so soon since it was just there for 29. They need to hold it in places with high tourism because the infrastructure is already in place for it to be handled. The amount of traveling fans is INSANE.

This argument is just dumb. You have absolutely 0 facts backing anything up.

[Boo!]

Nov 13, 2013 0:37:53 GMT -5 Urfarkendarf said:

Nov 12, 2013 23:56:40 GMT -5 Boo! said:

So my argument that holding WM in a non-hotbed for WWE might negatively impact on ticket sales and atmosphere is 'ridiculous'?

Why then do we think it's a big deal when they return to places like New York or Philly? If being a hotbed doesn't add something to a show why is there always an extra buzz about big shows/events WWE run in these areas? It can't be both ways. It cannot be that we accept a WWE ppv in New York has that extra special ingredient but then say that it doesn't exist as they could hold it anywhere and it'll be the same. Wrestlemania 30 is a flagship event. IMO taking it to an audience outside your core base means you risk loosing something from the spectacle.

New Orleans may be fine but it's never been the most fertile ground. I just think it's a odd choice for the occasion, same as Phoenix was. Doesnt mean Phoenix isn't a nice place or warm or friendly or anything else, but it probably wasn't an ideal WM venue. Not because people in the area didn't deserve one but because by nature of it not being a 'hotbed' for the company the crowd were largely tepid. Maybe the crowd in NO will be top class but when you take an event of this magnitude outside where you KNOW it'll go down well to somewhere that is a bit off-the-radar in terms of your home turf, there's always that risk.

Your reasoning for calling it a "non-hotbed" is ridiculous. They've had it in Atlanta, Miami, Orlando - all relatively recently- none of these cities are WWE "hotbeds" and the gate was fine there. However, all 3 of those (except for maybe Atlanta) are huge tourist destinations. New Orleans is one of those. Its also a huge travel hub. Virtually every major airline, Amtrak, and even freaking cruise ships port there.

Wrestlemania sells itself. It really does not matter where its held. They've held the damn thing in Detroit twice. Who wants to go to Detroit the first week of April? Hell, who wants to go to PHILLY first week of April? New Orleans is one of the top destinations in this country for tourism. Don't you think there's a reason why major sports hold huge events there? The NFL has held off on holding the Super Bowl there recently because it took a huge hit when Katrina hit. That will be almost 9 years ago when Mania is there. College football has a huge game there every January. The Final Four has been there. Virtually any major sporting event in this country has been held in New Orleans at some point.

There are only a few places that can compare to New York and the others you mentioned in terms of wrestling fans and "buzz", and you still don't get it. Wrestlemania is no longer a local event. It doesn't just draw local fans. Hell, I was at 29 here in NJ and not one person in our immediate area was from NJ or NY. They were from Australia, England, California, and 3 guys from Canada. You're also forgetting how freaking close New Orleans is to populations with massive amounts of fans. Texas, Florida, and basically the entire south can get to New Orleans extremely easy.

Your reasoning for this silly argument does not hold water. Where do you even live? Have you ever been to New Orleans?

Take a look at where New Orleans is ranked in major publications US tourist destinations
travel.usnews.com/Rankings/best_usa_vacations/
www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2011/10/18/10-best-cities-for-weekend-vacations/
www.tripadvisor.com/TravelersChoice-Destinations-cTop-g191

All 3 of those rank New Orleans high. They're not going to hold it in NY again so soon since it was just there for 29. They need to hold it in places with high tourism because the infrastructure is already in place for it to be handled. The amount of traveling fans is INSANE.

This argument is just dumb. You have absolutely 0 facts backing anything up.

You miss the point completely.

It isn't about if it's easy to get to or nice for tourists. Nevada is nice for tourists but because it's not a hotbed for the company the last WM they had there had a weak crowd. Ditto Arizona. Same as Indiana in 1992. If you take the showcase event outside of the sphere of 'hotbed' cities, you run the risk of having it met with a luke-warm reaction.

We either accept that hot territories exist or we don't. Montana won't suddenly become a great venue for WM if it becomes a massive tourist hotspot because it's never been a WWE place. If you take WWE outside of it's core areas for a big event, regardless of how great Trip Advisor says it is, you risk losing the energy that you'd get elsewhere.

I'm just saying for a flagship event it may have been better to go to a flagship town or city. New Orleans has never hosted a WM so it might be a great venue. But there is recent evidence to show how taking the show to a 'non WWE' place, can negatively impact on ticket sales and atmosphere. As we saw with Phoenix. I'm sure this argument in 2010 would have been reacted to the same way

"Phoenix is great, your argument is dumb"

Yet WM was a hard sell and the crowd largely lethargic. That might be because it wasn't WWE territoriality or the card was weak or economic climate or any number of things. But to call raising the issue 'dumb' wouldn't be all that smart itself.