The WWE wrestling organisation has detailed plans to take its ThunderDome experience to the Yuengling Center arena in Tampa.
The ThunderDome will take residence at the 10,400-capacity arena starting from the Monday Night Raw event on April 12. The move to Yuengling Center continues WWE’s relationship with the state of Florida, with the ThunderDome experience having previously been hosted at Orlando’s Amway Center and Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay.
The WWE took residency at Amway Center, home of the NBA’s Orlando Magic, in August to stage a number of events under the ThunderDome banner. The experience includes bringing fans into the arena ‘virtually’ through live video streams and also includes a state-of-the-art set, video boards, lasers and cutting-edge graphics to enhance the viewing experience for fans watching at home.
Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-view programming were produced on closed sets at Amway Center, before the ThunderDome experience moved on to Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, in December.
The WWE’s decision to move away from Amway Center came ahead of the start of the NBA season, and the experience will now head to Yuengling Center as Tropicana Field readies itself for the start of the new MLB season next month.
Yuengling Center sits on the campus of the University of South Florida. WWE will work in conjunction with The Famous Group and its proprietary technology to deliver the ThunderDome experience at the arena.
WWE programming will be produced at the arena on closed sets with only essential personnel in attendance. Continued health and safety protocols including COVID-19 testing, social distancing and mask wearing will continue to be enforced.
“WWE has always been a highlight of our event mix and bringing this world-class residency to Yuengling Center only strengthens our relationship,” said Kevin Preast, executive vice-president of event management at Vinik Sports Group, which operates the arena.
“Hosting WWE ThunderDome is another step towards a full return of hosting more events in the area.”
WWE will head to Yuengling Center after staging its WrestleMania event at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on April 10-11. Earlier this month it was confirmed that Raymond James Stadium will operate at 36% capacity for the event, meaning that around 25,000 tickets will be made available for each night.
Image: WWE
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