Physical WWE Hall of Fame Built in Orlando Before WrestleMania 33?
WWE has officially announced that WrestleMania is returning to the Sunshine State! At a press conference this morning, WWE and local dignitaries officially announced the Orlando Citrus Bowl in Florida will host WrestleMania 33 on Sunday, April 2, 2017.
“You will leave the Citrus Bowl emotionally exhausted,” Vince McMahon said. “Everyone will enjoy the drama and the athleticism … but most importantly, you’ll leave with a big smile on your face.”
The event marks WrestleMania’s first time back at the Citrus Bowl since 2008, when more than 74,000 members of the WWE Universe attended WrestleMania XXIV.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott joined Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs for the historic announcement, which was also made in conjunction with the Central Florida Sports Commission.
At the conference, Gov. Scott said “We’re excited to bring this event back to Orlando”
Florida set a tourism record by welcoming 105 million visitors in 2015, and WWE will help bring even more visitors to Florida in 2017. WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon, Roman Reigns, WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, Divas Champion Charlotte and Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon were among the Superstars and Divas in attendance.
Watch as Stephanie speaks.
John Cena, who also spoke at the press conference, described why Orlando is a fitting home for WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza.
“Orlando welcomes people and makes the impossible possible, makes dreams reality,” the Cenation leader said. “Orlando, just like WrestleMania, makes moments that last a lifetime.”
In addition to WrestleMania 33, the Orlando region will be home to a variety of events during next year’s WrestleMania Week. The Orange County Convention Center will host the interactive fan festival WrestleMania Axxess, and the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Monday Night Raw will both take place at the Amway Center. Additionally, Be a STAR anti-bullying rallies and other community outreach evens will be held that week.
So why is this announcement on our theme park website? Well, the long standing rumors of WWE building a physical Hall of Fame building in Orlando may come true… For some time the rumors have been swirling of converting the now closed NBA City Restaurant at Universal Orlando’s CityWalk into a WWE Restaurant / Hall of Fame combo attraction. This is still just a rumor and it was not announced at the press conference, but construction has already started for something new at the former NBA City restaurant. Although it’s still “just a rumor“, it has more juice this time around since, Wrestlemania is heading to Orlando, plus WWE opened their performance training center in Orlando, and now they host a weekly show called NXT at Orlando’s Full Sail University. The NXT show is a program developed to prepare the next generation of superstars for prime time.
With all that adding up, there’s an extremely good possibility we will see a new Hall of Fame museum in Orlando. That would be just one more great reason to visit Universal for us!
Are you excited for Wrestlemania and the Hall of Fame being in Orlando? Let us know on our socials or in the comments below!
For more information, visit the official WWE website by clicking here.
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