UFC, WWE Ink Deal to Feature in Anaheim’s $4 Billion Arena Project
TKO, the parent of the UFC and WWE, has reached a five-year deal to host MMA and wrestling events at the Honda Center in Anaheim, the latest example of how the combined entity is leveraging the power of the two companies in new commercial deals.
Under the partnership, both UFC and WWE will hold at least three events at the arena across the next five years. Those events could coincide in the same week or be held entirely separately.
More from Sportico.com
It’s unclear how UFC and WWE are being compensated as part of the deal. These partnerships sometimes involve cash payments, and sometimes involve more favorable terms on the costs and revenue associated with the events themselves.
The arrangement begins this weekend. UFC 298 will be held at the arena on Saturday; WWE’s Monday Night Raw will be there two days later. Honda Center is the first venue to host back-to-back UFC and WWE events since the TKO merger.
The agreement also secures marquee programing for OCVIBE, the sports and entertainment district being developed in downtown Anaheim around the arena. The $4 billion project, a vision similar to Los Angeles’s L.A. Live, is almost entirely privately funded, and backed by the Samueli family, owners of the Anaheim Ducks. This partnership includes smaller events, such as watch parties, that might attract UFC or WWE fans throughout the year.
TKO (NYSE: TKO) was formed last year after Endeavor, which owned UFC at the time, agreed to an all-stock transaction to roll up the MMA company up into a combined entity with WWE, which was already public. Endeavor took 51% of the business, with WWE shareholders assuming the rest. TKO started trading in its current form in September at $102 per share, and closed Wednesday at $87.56. It currently has a market cap of $7.2 billion.
The group’s challenge is to merge two very different companies, which have a lot of non-overlapping fans, and find synergies in everything from operations and sales to talent. In a significant step last month, TKO merged the partnerships divisions of both groups into one global arm. The tight overlap of this weekend’s events in Anaheim potentially teases at a future where TKO hosts bigger weekends around the world where both UFC and WWE are holding coordinated events in close proximity.
Both UFC and WWE are familiar with the Honda Center. The arena has hosted 63 WWE events and nine UFC fights, including the arena’s highest-grossing event, UFC 270, which brought in a $5.3 million gate.
Best of Sportico.com
