WrestleMania is expected to bring crowds to Philly. But a ‘rabid fan base’ is already here.

WrestleMania, the hallmark annual event of professional wrestling, is coming to Philadelphia this spring and is expected to draw large crowds. Throughout the five days of wrestling programming in April, over 200,000 attendees are expected.

“We’ll have eyes on Philadelphia from literally around the globe,” said Larry Needle, executive director of PHL Sports, a division at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. ”For thousands, it will likely be their introduction to our city and a chance to bring many new visitors here.”

WrestleMania 40 will take place at Lincoln Financial Field over two nights, on April 6 and 7. Other events throughout the week will be hosted at the Wells Fargo Center and the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Interactive fan activities and a “superstore” where fans can purchase official merchandise will be available at the Convention Center.

A ticket to a single night of the showcase at the Linc can run from $211 to over $5,000 on Ticketmaster. All events throughout the week are expected to sell out, Needle said.

Fans of WrestleMania have stayed an average of four nights in the host area, according to data WWE made available to Needle’s team from the past couple of years. Many fans also come to the event each year, he says, regardless of which city is hosting.

“This is their Mecca,” said Needle.

Last year, WrestleMania took place near Los Angeles and had an economic impact of $215 million for the region, according to the Los Angeles Times. It was the highest grossing and most attended WrestleMania to date, beating the previous year’s record when 156,352 people attended the event in the Dallas/Arlington region. The event in Texas drew attendees from every state in the country as well as international audiences from 53 countries, according to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. The event created a $206.5 million economic impact on the region according to a study released by the mayor of Arlington, Texas.

“I’m not going to say that our stadium attendance numbers are gonna be able to exceed Dallas or L.A. necessarily just based on size of the venue,” Needle said.

The AT&T Stadium in Arlington has over 80,000 seats, while the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles has over 70,000 seats, compared to the Linc’s 67,594 seats.

Still, Philadelphia managed to set a record when tickets went on sale in August. WWE sold over 90,000 tickets and in one day exceeded the gross record of $21.6 million in sales from the previous year.

“We want to bring things that are not only financially successful, but events that local fans want to have here,” Needle said.

Bringing WrestleMania to Philadelphia was no easy feat, said Needle, who is part of the sporting commission for the city charged with attracting these kinds of events.

“There literally are hundreds of similar commissions around the country … battling it out for the big event,” Needle said. “It’s an incredibly competitive process.”

The effort will pay off for locals. Although many fans will be coming to Philadelphia for WrestleMania, some are already here.

“We know historically we are one of WWE’s biggest markets, and we consistently deliver big audiences for them for the different shows that come to town,” Needle said. “They are well aware of the rabid fan base that we have in Philadelphia. "