PWP’s Josh Gibbs explains why you should go out of your way to get tickets to WrestleMania 32.
If you have never attended a WrestleMania or have always wanted to do so, April 3d, 2016 may be the best chance your wallet will have.
When tickets for WrestleMania 32 at AT&T Stadium go on sale next month, some of the seats within the Arlington, TX venue will sell for as little as $18. For that price, you will most likely be watching all of the action on the 2,100 inch high-definition video display suspended above mid-field that until just a few years ago was certified by Guinness as the largest in the world.
While it no longer claims this title, the screen is so massive that it has been hit twice by punts during professional football games. Dallas Cowboys owner and possible James Bond villain, Jerry Jones had a vision for a stadium where there were no bad seats.
Last year, I attended a college football game at this monolith that jokingly, yet appropriately has been nicknamed “Jerry’s World” and I can attest that he has achieved his goal. I was sitting only 20 rows from the field yet I found myself constantly looking up to the screen with equal parts interest and awe.
There is another reason for the staggeringly low price for an event described by Ric Flair as “bigger than the SuperBowl” that owes more to hubris than to greed. Vince McMahon is all about breaking attendance records for his promotions, which means nothing to the average wrestling fan but means everything to the men in suits at WWE Headquarters. The current professional wrestling attendance record is still claimed by WrestleMania III in 1987 whose number is touted as 93,173 and up until 2010 was also the attendance record for any indoor event.
The 2010 NBA All-Star Game (also held at AT&T Stadium) drew a crowd of 108,713 and Vince is certainly ambitious enough to want to break both records, thus allowing him to claim WWE is far more popular than it used to be with the proof being that it draws bigger crowds than more mainstream sports such as the NBA.
The insatiable ego of McMahon combined with the slump in RAW and Smackdown ratings and the low cost of watching WrestleMania on the WWE Network means that this may be the best opportunity you have to see this show in person for a reasonable price. If you and some friends just want to go and have a good time, you will most likely spend more on travel and hotels than you will on actual tickets, which is rare for an event of this magnitude.
For those who want to be closer to the action, you can still expect to pay anywhere between $2000-$10,000 for a seat on the floor. I attended WrestleMania 30 in New Orleans, sat four rows away from the ring and yes, prices were insane for everything from popcorn to popsicles. But in true capitalist fashion, you really do get what you pay for and seeing a WrestleMania in person was something I had wanted to do since I was 5 years old. For the price I paid, yes, I did get some nice trinkets.
Not only did I get to take home the unique cushioned folding chair I sat in during the 4 hour extravaganza, but I also received a swag bag which included a WM 30 picture autographed by Triple H and Hulk Hogan. But these things are merely toys and you’re not paying for toys.
You’re paying for the experience.
WrestleMania is known for creating unique and memorable moments in and out of the established WWE storylines. As much fun as I had being that close to the action, I think it would be equally as much fun to be sitting up high with your friends or your family, knowing you got a great deal on tickets to what may end up being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
If you have kids who are WWE fans and who are old enough to appreciate this kind of show, this could be a no-brainer. I will say this; if you want to go, don’t hesitate to buy your tickets. They will not get any cheaper and this event will sell out which means scalpers and third-party dealers will turn that $18 ticket into a $1800 ticket.
Tickets for WrestleMania 32 will be available for presale at 10 am EST on November 5th with the password for the presale as RAWVIP. Tickets will also be available at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. If you haven’t already, don’t bother trying to purchase the official WWE travel packages as they are all sold out. While I don’t think WWE can break the all-time attendance record, I have full confidence that WrestleMania 32 will see more than 100,000 people packed into Jerry’s World.
And you can be one of them for less than the cost of a Cards Against Humanity set.
