Minneapolis finally gets its big stadium WWE premium live event

Minneapolis finally secured their big WWE event although it wasn’t the WrestleMania they were hoping for.

The city of Minneapolis and Minnesota Sports and Events made three bids for three separate WrestleManias, all unsuccessful although their latest bid for WrestleMania 41 was taken away from them in the 11th hour by the city of Las Vegas.

Minneapolis originally bid to host WrestleMania 33 which then went to Orlando and also bid to host WrestleMania 36 which went to Tampa and then to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city was the frontrunner for WrestleMania 41 for several months and Wendy Blackshaw, Minnesota Sports and Events President and Chief Executive Officer, was hopeful that they got the show.

But the news of WrestleMania going to Las Vegas earlier this month shattered Minneapolis’ hopes of getting the big event and Blackshaw said that although disappointed, they remain in discussions with WWE about future events in Minnesota.

WWE’s announcement of an event 800 days away is rare although not unprecedented. The company previously had announced locations for three WrestleManias after the pandemic, with Tampa, Dallas, and Los Angeles WrestleManias announced in January 2021.

The U.S. Bank Stadium will now host SummerSlam in 2026 and in what is a first, SummerSlam will be held over two nights just like WrestleMania. If this is something that’s new moving forward or just a “gift” to Minneapolis remains to be seen.

Located in downtown Minneapolis, the $1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium opened in 2016 and has a seating capacity of 73,000. It is the home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and it already played host to the Super Bowl in 2018.

Taylor Swift currently holds the indoor record at the stadium packing in 98,774 fans.