The last time Philadelphia hosted WrestleMania, the main event featured Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, and the company promoting it was still called the WWF. Come April 2024, the city will be able to boast more updated names for that statement.
WWE joined with the city of Philadelphia, the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and several other area organizations on July 27 to announce that WrestleMania 40 will be held on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, 2024 at Lincoln Financial Field.
“We are proud to welcome WWE fans from around the world to Philadelphia to be a part of the historic 40th WrestleMania in 2024,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a press release. “The week-long series of events will help put a global spotlight on our great city while also generating a major impact for our local economy.”
SmackDown, the WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony and the Raw after WrestleMania will take place at Wells Fargo Center, home to the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA and Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. That arena is essentially right across the street from Lincoln Financial Field.
The big question in the wake of the announcement is about the weather. Early April in the northeast can be unpredictable, bringing anything from the first tastes of spring to late snow, and lows in Philadelphia for the month average around 47 degrees. Since WrestleMania shifted to large stadiums in 2007, WWE has mostly avoided outdoor venues that don’t have roofs.
That said, WrestleMania has been held twice in that span at MetLife Stadium near New York, and the show mostly dodged any inclement weather each time. Attendance should not be an issue regardless, as fans in the Philadelphia area — and the city itself — are undoubtedly eager for the event to return.
“On behalf of WWE, we are thrilled to bring WrestleMania back to the City of Brotherly Love,” WWE Executive Vice President of Special Events John Saboor said in the release. “We thank all of our local partners who were integral in making this long-awaited return a reality.”