WWE’s flagship event will not take place in New Orleans in 2026, the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation confirmed in a statement to USA TODAY Sports.
No reason was given for why WrestleMania 42 will no longer be held in New Orleans, but the organization said the event will be held in the city at a later date, and it will host Money in the Bank 2026.
It is part of a partnership with TKO Group Holdings, Inc., which owns WWE and UFC, where New Orleans will host UFC 318, next year’s Money in the Bank and a future WrestleMania. WrestleMania 42 was scheduled to be the third WrestleMania New Orleans hosted after WrestleMania 30 in 2014 and WrestleMania 34 in 2018.
‘The Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation and New Orleans & Company are working closely with our friends at TKO to expand our long-standing partnership,’ the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation said in a joint statement with WWE. ‘Which will include UFC 318 on July 19, 2025, Money In The Bank in 2026, and WrestleMania – which will move from the currently scheduled 2026 timeframe to a future year.’
The change in location comes three months after the site and dates for WrestleMania 42 were announced. During the Feb. 21 episode of SmackDown at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, The Rock appeared and revealed to the audience WrestleMania 42 would take place at the Caesars Superdome April 11-12, 2026.
The new location or dates for WrestleMania 42 has not been announced, although WrestleMania has moved to being held in mid-April. USA TODAY Sports has reached out to WWE and TKO for more information.
The news of location change comes after a reported similar instance happened for WrestleMania 41. Before it was announced the 2025 edition would take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis was widely expected to be the pick.
WWE president Nick Khan said at the SBJ World Congress of Sports in April 2024 the event would no longer take place in outdoor East Coast stadiums after the frigid conditions during WrestleMania 40 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. U.S. Bank Stadium is indoors.
Minnesota Sports and Events President Wendy Blackshaw told the Star Tribune that Minneapolis was in the running for WrestleMania 41, but ‘new ownership’ in WWE resulted in it not being selected. Instead, U.S. Bank Stadium was awarded SummerSlam 2026 on Aug. 1-2.