TKO’s pursuit of site fees from local government organizations continues as the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA) is set to provide $7,125,250 in public funds to East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium in support of the first two-day WWE Summerslam next year on August 2 and 3.
According to our previous reporting, the $7.1 million subsidy is by far the highest yet known for a WWE event in the U.S., which excludes the upwards of $50 million WWE gets from the government in Saudi Arabia for each event there. TKO got $16 million for a “combination of events” in Australia, according to TKO COO Mark Shapiro, that likely included Elimination Chamber in Perth this year.
Wrestlemania — easily WWE’s biggest annual event — is set to receive $5 million next year from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
Earlier this year, the local tourism board in Tampa-St. Petersburg provide $500,000 for Royal Rumble. Though that was a one-day event, the Summerslam 2025 fee is 14-times greater. The previous known fee for a Summerslam was for the 2021 event in Las Vegas, which public records indicate was $330,000, again, a one-day event but more than 21-times greater than the $7.1 million fee for next year’s show.
Selling local municipalities on large site fees or other subsidies for events is a key growth strategy frequently push by TKO executives including Shapiro.
Public records obtained from NJSEA also confirm an earlier report by northjersey.com reveal that UFC, WWE’s sibling company within TKO, secured a $5 million fee from the government entity for UFC 302, which took place in June earlier this year at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
NJSEA points to the return on investment that Summerslam is expected to bring to the local economy. Authority communications representative Brian Aberback responded to our request to provide context to help us understand the Summerslam 2025 fee.
“The allocated funds will be used to offset the cost of a negotiated incentive fee that is based, in part, on the benefits of hosting this two-night event in New Jersey,” Aberback wrote to us by email on Friday. “These benefits include an estimated total economic impact of over $80 million and increased global visibility for the state and region. It is well-established that WWE Premium Live Events like SummerSlam are major drivers of economic activity for hotels, restaurants, and local businesses.”
According to records obtained from our request, it’s estimated by Applied Analysis that Summerslam will generate $80.7 million in economic return for the region, including contributing $32.4 million in salaries and wages. It appears WWE itself commissioned Applied Analysis to conduct this study, which is typical for economic impact studies related to sports and entertainment events. “Applied Analysis was engaged to conduct a preliminary economic impact assessment for a potential SummerSlam event held at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey,” the slide provided by WWE reads.
NJSEA’s Resolution 2024-39 states that funds for Summerslam 2025 will be drawn from the “Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund,” part of the American Rescue Plan Act 2021, legislation that provides funding to a wide variety of economic areas. In the resolution, the Authority frames the payout as a boost to New Jersey’s tourism and hospitality businesses, pointing to WWE’s ability to bring in tens of thousands of attendees from around the world.
“The disbursement of funds will ultimately be subject to approval by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which is the state-designated Grants Manager for the State Fiscal Recovery Fund (“SFRF”) program,” Aberback added. “The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority anticipates that this program will qualify under SFRF Expenditure Category 6.1: Provision of Government Services based on the NJSEA’s broad statutory authority to promote and otherwise support sporting and entertainment events statewide.”
We contacted WWE earlier this week also asking them to provide context but they didn’t respond.
Jack Wannan contributed to this report by obtaining public records related to UFC 302.
Brandon Thurston has written about wrestling business since 2015. He operates and owns Wrestlenomics.