This morning the WWE announced that the Road to WrestleMania 35 will go through Arizona. Specifically, the 2019 Royal Rumble will take place on 27 January 2019 from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Chase Field is the home of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks and features a retractable roof. It is the first time the Rumble will be hosted in a baseball stadium and with this feature, it could see the Rumble being hosted in an outdoor venue for the first time as well, weather permitting. The arena seats almost 50,000 and will mark the first time in 15 years a baseball stadium has been used for a Pay Per View, the previous two times being WrestleMania XIX in Seattle and WrestleMania XVIII in Toronto.
The nearby Talking Stick Arena and Resort, which is often used for live events, has been tapped to host NXT Takeover the night before the Rumble and the Monday Night Raw and Smackdown Live on the nights following. The arena has hosted two previous pay per view events including the 2013 Royal Rumble when it was then called the US Airways Center.
In an interview with AZCentral.com, John Saboor, who serves as Executive Vice-President of Special Events for WWE mentioned that the proximity of the two venues to each other was one of the main reasons Arizona was chosen. Saboor stated “It makes for a seamless experience for our fans. You are able to fly into the airport, travel to downtown and stay in a hotel, enjoy restaurants and shopping and transportation — all downtown.”
