Is the UFC making the right decision to rush to an arena full of fans? Because Covid is clearly still a problem in Florida – just ask the WWE.
Just yesterday, the UFC made a splashy announcement about their UFC 261 card – it will take place in Jacksonville, Florida, and will have an arena full of fans. Around 15,000. Full capacity.
As expected, many see this is an idea that is coming about way too early. Sure, vaccinations have begun to try to stem the tide of the coronavirus pandemic. Slowly but surely, the world will likely return to normal. Eventually.
Meanwhile, World Wrestling Entertainment was supposed to be putting tickets on sale today for WrestleMania 37, which goes down April 10th and 11th at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The stadium has an event capacity of around 60,000 with all of their gear in there. The WWE reportedly wanted to sell about 25,000 tickets when the idea came about in January. Lately, the estimate has been bumped to about 45,000 (according to Dave Melter in the Wrestling Observer newsletter).
But they have delayed the on-sale date for at least a week, possibly more. And according to Meltzer, this delay might now indicate that they’re looking at a full-capacity event if they’re allow to have one. So 60,000 people.
There’s just one minor hiccup at the moment – WWE is reportedly dealing with a Covid outbreak at their Performance Center facility in Orlando.
According to Fightful Select, some wrestlers and staff that were set to work the NXT tapings for this Wednesday’s show have been sent home to quarantine, and the scheduled matches are being changed up due to Covid. Meltzer took to Twitter to confirm the report, and added a scary tidbit:
The NXT COVID outbreak story is accurate. Lots of positive tests.
— Dave Meltzer (@davemeltzerWON) March 15, 2021
NXT is one of the three WWE “brands”, and apparently this only affects wrestler and staff at the Orlando Performance Center due to the other two WWE brands (Raw and Smackdown) operating and filming in Tropicana Field in Tampa for the time being. But it is still a potentially major issue, and is proof that Covid is nowhere near under control in the state of Florida, or pretty much anywhere for that matter.
But hey, let’s fill up those stadiums and arenas! Let’s cram everyone in and give them a great show! And if they get something else, well…
Be careful what you wish for.