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After what has been a very refreshing run for WWE in the Amway Center, WWE has now confirmed that the ThunderDome will be moving out of the Amway Center. Instead, they are moving into Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay, as had been the rumor the past few days.
Fox Sports confirmed the report and revealed that the move would start with the 11th December episode of SmackDown.
WWE's move to Tropicana Field has been forced by the NBA season beginning in December. When the season does begin, it's expected that Orlando Magic will need the facility for their games.
Meanwhile, next year's MLB season is not supposed to begin until at least April, as a result of which WWE will be able to move their weekly shows of RAW and SmckDown to Tropicana Field until at least April. Whether they bring fans into their shows in the future remains to be seen.
The Tampa Bay Rays President Matt Silverman made a statement about the move.
“The Tampa Bay Rays are excited to welcome WWE to Tropicana Field for this residency and shine a spotlight on the Tampa Bay area for WWE fans around the world. The ballpark will be transformed to host the spectacle of WWE ThunderDome, allowing fans to enjoy this wildly popular experience virtually.”
WWE made it clear they will continue all their precautionary measures at Tropicana Field, and WWE RAW, SmackDown, and pay-per-views will continue to be filmed there on closed sets.
However, with Royal Rumble and WrestleMania coming up, it will be interesting to see if WWE's policies about audiences change.
WWE ThunderDome was introduced before SummerSlam
Only a few days before WWE SummerSlam, WWE changed up the entire presentation of their show. Instead of the empty Performance Center arenas where the shows had the NXT stars and developmental trainees as their audience, they moved into the Amway Center with a new concept changing up the entire production style of their shows.
As Kevin Dunn revealed recently, the WWE ThunderDome was the perfect solution to all of WWE's problems. They could not bring fans physically to their shows as a result of the pandemic, so they brought the fans virtually to the WWE ThunderDome. The ambiance of the shows changed up immediately and had a positive impact on the ratings and the audience-interest as well.
Since that introductory show, WWE had remained in the ThunderDome, but now it appears that they will be moving out to a new home.
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