New WWE ThunderDome Location Officially Revealed
Here's where the WWE ThunderDome is heading after leaving Tropicana Field...
The WWE ThunderDome is on the move to the University of South Florida's Yuengling Center.
WWE broke the news via an official press release today, confirming what several independent outlets had previously reported. The 12 April episode of Raw will be the first show to broadcast live from the new location.
This comes following a report stating that WWE was taking the ThunderDome setup out of its current Tropicana Field home in Tampa, Florida on 2 April, and was looking at moving it across town. The Tampa Bay Rays, who call Tropicana Field home, need the building back for their first home game of the upcoming MLB season on 9 April.
WWE currently plans on pretaping the go-home episodes of Raw and SmackDown from Tropicana Field, and will do so on 30 March and 1 April. These are the same days that the Hall of Fame tapings have been scheduled for.
Located on the University of South Florida's campus in Tampa, the Yuengling Center is a 10,411-capacity basketball and volleyball arena that should bear a closer resemblance to the ThunderDome's original Amway Center home in Orlando than Tropicana Field.
See WWE's full press release below.
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WWE ThunderDome Takes Over Yuengling Center
WWE® (NYSE: WWE) will bring its world-class viewing experience, WWE ThunderDome, to Yuengling Center as it remains in Tampa with a new residency starting with Monday Night Raw® on April 12 at 8 pm ET on USA Network.
The move to Yuengling Center continues WWE’s longstanding relationship with the state of Florida and marks the next phase of WWE ThunderDome, which launched to critical acclaim last August at Amway Center in Orlando and has continued over the past four months at Tropicana Field in Tampa. Yuengling Center sits on the campus of one of Florida’s largest universities, the University of South Florida.
Featuring a state-of-the-art set, video boards, pyrotechnics, lasers, cutting-edge graphics and drone cameras, WWE ThunderDome provides an immersive viewing atmosphere and virtually brings thousands of fans into the arena via live video, in conjunction with The Famous Group and its proprietary technology, for every Monday Night Raw, Friday Night SmackDown® and WWE pay-per-view event. WWE ThunderDome received top honors at last year’s Sportel Awards for Best Virtual Fan Experience.
“WWE has always been a highlight of our event mix and bringing this world-class residency to Yuengling Center only strengthens our relationship,” said Kevin Preast, Executive Vice President of Event Management at Vinik Sports Group. “Hosting WWE ThunderDome is another step towards a full return of hosting more events in the area.”
“WWE takes great pride in providing our fans and network partners with cutting-edge production and one of the most interactive atmospheres in all of television every single week,” said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer & Chief, Global Television Production. “We look forward to the next iteration of the WWE ThunderDome at Yuengling Center as we continue to take the fan experience to a whole new level.”
To date, more than 650,000 fans from around the world have registered to be part of WWE ThunderDome. Fans can register for their virtual seat to be part of upcoming WWE shows via www.WWEThunderDome.com or at WWE’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter pages.
Raw, SmackDown and pay-per-view programming will be produced at Yuengling Center on closed sets with only essential personnel in attendance. WWE will continue to administer its health and safety protocols for talent, crew and employees in conjunction with each production, including PCR testing for COVID-19, social distancing and wearing masks.