New Jersey Used $7 Million of Covid Relief Funds to Secure WWE SummerSlam
WWE SummerSlam will come to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey next year, in the first two-night edition of the Biggest Party of the Summer. This is a blockbuster venture for the state, which used Covid relief funds to secure WWE’s second-largest annual Premium Live Event.
New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority approved a resolution to allocate $7.125M to be used to assist MetLife Stadium with “securing and hosting the WWE SummerSlam,” North Jersey reports. The money is part of the American Rescue Plan; funding that the state received from the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic. The money can be used to “respond to the negative economic impacts of the public health emergency by providing aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel, and hospitality.”
The resolution expects WWE SummerSlam to generate over $80 million in “total economic impact for the region,” making the initial $7.125 million a sound investment. The state was given $6.24 billion in federal pandemic relief funding back in May 2021.
WWE SummerSlam won’t be New Jersey’s first event to see funding from the American Rescue Plan. Last year, UFC 288 took place in Newark’s Prudential Center with $3.5 million in pandemic relief funds being used to secure the event. In 2026, MetLife Stadium will play host the the FIFA World Cup Finals, with the entire tournament set to take place across the United States.
