WWE pushes for large crowd at WrestleMania 37

Even as vaccine rollout continues around the world, the fight against COVID-19 is not over. States within the United States are beginning to open back up, some faster than others, causing concern over the growing plan to host large crowds. Reports broke on Sunday that WrestleMania 37 is looking to have 45,000 fans in attendance, which would make it the largest event to host a crowd in America since the pandemic started.

Jon Alba was the first to report the news on Twitter on Sunday morning.

“I can independently confirm reports WWE is aiming for about 45,000 people per night at Raymond James Stadium for WrestleMania, which would be by far the largest crowd at a sports or entertainment event in America since the pandemic began.”

Alba went on to state that the Tampa Bay Sports Authority, which manages Raymond James Stadium, has yet to respond to his inquiry.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, new cases and deaths are slowly trending downward compared to where the United States was earlier in 2021 after the holiday travel season. Still, major voices such as Dr. Anthony Fauci continue to push people to avoid large gatherings with new people. Other major events such as the NFL Super Bowl in February and the NBA All-Star Game in March were met with pushback because of the crowds that they were expected to entertain either at the event or parties in surrounding areas.

Another point of interest is that this comes at a time when Vince McMahon is not happy with talent and personnel who are not taking COVID-19 seriously. According to a Fightful Select report on Sunday, McMahon has made it clear he wants the performers and staff taking the pandemic seriously. The report mentions staffers having their responsibilities reduced when pictures of them at events unmasked show up on social media.

Steve Cutler, former member of the Forgotten Sons, was released from the WWE and reports were that this occurred because of him contracting COVID-19. Kacy Catanzaro was chastised online as multiple videos and pictures of her partying with friends without masks appeared on social media. WWE has struggled with COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, having multiple outbreaks at their facilities and causing frustrations among performers. However, the promotion also used the pandemic as a catalyst to lay off numerous performers and personnel multiple times, increasing what was already set to be a massive revenue year in 2020.

Tickets are set to go on sale for WrestleMania 37 on Tuesday, March 16, and information still is not available on the number of tickets to be sold or protocols.

Stay tuned to Daily DDT for more information about WrestleMania 37, WWE, and much more across the professional wrestling industry.