Florida Governor Says That We Could See Some Fans Back at Wrestling Shows by June or July

At a press conference yesterday, Florida governor Ron DeSantis said that it’s possible that the state could allow sports events with a limited amount of fans by June or July “if the trends are good.”

“I don’t think we’re probably ready to have fans, but I do think if the trends are good, as you get into June/July, I think there is a window to have some fans,” DeSantis said. “You’re not gonna have everyone packed in, but man, in 90 degree weather, state of Florida, if you’re out there and someone’s 10 feet away from you, and you want to watch a ball game or something, you may be able to do that.”

DeSantis, who declared WWE and national sports to be “essential services” earlier this month, allowing them to run in the state, also said that he wanted to keep a “good relationship” with WWE and wanted them to “invest in Florida.”

Florida will begin lifting some of its stay-at-home orders this Monday, allowing stores and restaurants to re-open in a limited capacity in most of the state.

Full quote from DeSantis:

I would like to get to a point – I’m not saying we’re gonna get it in May – but I’ve helped recruit… I wanted the wrestling to be filmed in Orlando. I’d like them to do WrestleMania. They were gonna do WrestleMania in April. That was hundreds of millions of dollars. I want to keep that good relationship. I want them to invest in Florida.

We got UFC to come to Jacksonville. Again, there’s not gonna be any fans, but I think that’s gonna be a good event for people. I don’t think we’re probably ready to have fans, but I do think if the trends are good, as you get into June/July, I think there is a window to have some fans. You’re not gonna have everyone packed in, but man, in 90 degree weather, state of Florida, if you’re out there and someone’s 10 feet away from you, and you want to watch a ball game or something, you may be able to do that. So this is something that we’re just gonna have to do. We’re gonna be driven by the facts, driven by the data. But I think that Major League Baseball coming back, I think that that’s gonna be very exciting for a lot of people and I think that there are gonna be a lot of possibilities. So let’s just be resourceful and creative.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who classified #WWE, #AEW, #UFC and others among essential businesses, said he’d like to keep a good relationship with WWE and mentioned the $100 million+ that WrestleMania brings in. Also said they got UFC to come to Jacksonville. pic.twitter.com/xOlq4jjRqz

— Jon Alba (@JonAlba) April 29, 2020