WrestleMania 40 took place over two nights at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Penn. Per WWE, the gate for the event was up 78% compared to the previous record set during WrestleMania 39, with 145,298 in attendance across both nights this year. The company also says viewership was up 41% versus last year, while merchandise sales—in partnership with Fanatics—was up more than 20% over last year.
But the live events on Saturday and Sunday nights are just one part of the story. WWE set up a massive presence in Philadelphia from Thursday through Monday. The company hosted the WWE World experience at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, where fans could pay to get up close with authentic WWE memorabilia from their archives as well as take part in immersive experiences. This was coupled with the WWE Superstore, which featured a wide range of branded merchandise from apparel to toys and beyond.
The April 5 episode of SmackDown originated from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, drawing the largest gate in SmackDown history. Likewise, the April 8 episode of Monday Night Raw drew the largest gate in Raw history. WWE also put on the NXT live event Stand and Deliver on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center, which drew a record breaking crowd of 16,545; the most ever for an NXT event.