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WWE News: Orlando Citrus Bowl Is Likely Host For ‘WrestleMania 33’

By Dustin Murrell
Published on: 04:34 PST, Jan 14, 2016

As recently as last August, members of the WWE Universe living in the American Midwest were ecstatic about rumors that WrestleMania 33 was coming to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Unfortunately for residents of the Gopher State, the most recent reports point towards 2017’s WrestleMania host city to be somewhere in Florida — or even California. Making no mention of Minnesota’s Twin Cities, Orlando was listed as a top candidate for WM33, with Los Angeles entering the conversation as well.

In August, an executive from the U.S. Bank Stadium — home of the Minnesota Vikings — implied that WrestleMania was a sure thing. “You know we’ve got WrestleMania coming,” said Vice President of Public Affairs for the Stadium, Lester Bagley.

However, soon after Bagley made that comment, WWE responded to media inquiries with a slightly different response, such as the one received by What Culture.

“Minneapolis is one of the many cities that has expressed an interest in hosting a future WrestleMania. Beyond WrestleMania in Dallas, TX on April 3, 2016, locations for future WrestleMania’s[sic] have not been announced.”

The Midwest hosted back-to-back WrestleManias in 2006 and 2007, in Chicago (WrestleMania 22) and Detroit (WrestleMania 23), respectively. Since then, WrestleMania has steered clear of the Heartland. And if recent reports from PWInsider are true, it could be even longer than the fly-over states had hoped.

Map of WrestleMania Locations (Google Maps)
The host cities of every ‘WrestleMania’ from 1-29. [Image via Google Maps]
As WrestleZone noted, indications are that WWE is moving on from Minneapolis. Orlando is said to be a top choice, which makes logistical sense in more ways than one. WWE’s training facility, the Performance Center, is located in Orlando, and so is Full Sail University, the host of the increasingly popular WWE NXT.

WWE has gone to Orlando for WrestleMania in the past. In 2008, WrestleMania 24 took place at the Citrus Bowl. Most notably at that event, Shawn Michaels defeated Ric Flair in what was the last match for “The Nature Boy” in WWE. Floyd Mayweather Jr. also competed against The Big Show at that event.

However, there was also a technical malfunction after The Undertaker defeated Edge in the main event. Forty-five people were injured as the result of fireworks going off near the top two rows of the stadium. At least three people were hospitalized.

The other location that the report mentioned in Minnesota’s stead was Los Angeles, where WWE has a rich history of big events. The main event of WrestleMania 2 was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in 1986, and returned in 1991 for WrestleMania VII. WrestleMania XII was just down the road in 1996, at Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, and again four years later for WrestleMania 2000. The last WrestleMania in Los Angeles was over a decade ago, when WrestleMania 21 took place from the Staples Center.

Additionally, SummerSlam was held at the Staples Center for six consecutive years, from 2009 to 2014. Since that event has been moved to New York until at least 2017, WWE may feel like they owe Los Angeles another WrestleMania.

At this point, nothing has been confirmed by WWE about the location of WrestleMania 33. In year’s past, the announcement has been made during or just before the current WrestleMania. The location for WrestleMania 28, for example, was not revealed to be Miami until Vince told the live audience at WrestleMania 27 in Atlanta.

This year’s WrestleMania 32 will be held in Texas at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

[Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images]

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