Tony Khan Explains Why AEW Keeps Running Larger Arenas

Tony Khan recently talked about the reason why AEW keeps running larger venues.

The arenas where AEW Dynamite shows are held have a capacity far exceeding the attendance they typically draw. Dynamite typically garners around 3,000-4,000 attendees, with 4,000 being on the higher end. However, the arenas hosting these shows can accommodate up to 10,000 or more spectators.

In the case of the February 21 AEW Dynamite episode held at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, attendance was notably low, with fewer than 3,300 tickets sold. This occurred despite the venue's capacity to hold over 10,000 spectators, as reported by WrestleTix.

Addressing this in an interview with YouTube channel GV Wire, AEW president Tony Khan revealed why the promotion does this, and it all comes down to marketing.

“It depends on the market and the time. A lot of times, those arenas have a lot of big advantages like email lists and marketing and they are a destination venue for shows. It depends on the market and the timing. Certainly, bigger arenas do have a lot of advantages. They have a lot of sale contacts and really good marketing resources.”

Khan was asked if there is a disadvantage to not using the entire arena for AEW shows, he replied that using a bigger arena is better to reach certain customers.

“It depends. They have a better chance of outreaching to certain customers than other venues.”

AEW's annual event with NJPW, known as the Forbidden Door, is reportedly scheduled to be held at New York City’s Arthur Ashe Stadium. This would be the company's third stadium event, despite facing challenges with attendance. However, AEW shows strong performance in terms of pay-per-view sales.