>R S % TO SPORTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITORS:
WRESTLEMANIA III SETS ATTENDANCE RECORD; TOPS ROLLING STONES
STAMFORD, Conn., March 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Wrestlemania III set a record today and has become the largest indoor sports/entertainment event of all time, announced the World Wrestling Federation.
The event, which takes place Sunday, March 29, 4 p.m. EST, at the Pontiac Silverdome, has broken the old indoor attendance record of 87,500, set by the Rolling Stones at the New Orleans Superdome in 1981. More than 88,000 people will fill the Silverdome for the most exciting WWF event in history.
Tickets, which were priced as high as $100 for ringside seats, went on sale in early February in an arena that holds the attendance records for the largest NBA crowd as well as the largest indoor Superbowl audience.
Mike Abington, acting executive director of the Pontiac Silverdome, commented, "We are proud of the attendance records which we have set with the Pistons and the NFL as well as with rock concerts, but Wrestlemania III will be our biggest attendance by far."
Headlining the 12-match extravaganza will be WWF heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan defending his title against 7-foot-four-inch, 525-pound Andre The Giant. Also, WWF intercontinental champion Randy "Macho Man" Savage will take on Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and "Rowdy" Roddy Piper will make his farewell appearance against "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.
In addition to becoming the largest indoor event ever, Wrestlemania III is experiencing tremendous advance ticket sales for the more than 160 closed-circuit locations across the United States and Canada; New York's Madison Square Garden is sold out; and Maple Leaf Garden, home of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, sold all available tickets (11,800) in just one day. The Pittsburgh Civic Arena has even moved the start time of the Pittsburgh Penguins' NHL game to 9 p.m. to accommodate a closed-circuit telecast of Wrestlemania III. The event also will be carried in as many as 26 countries worldwide.
Below is a list of the largest indoor sports/entertainment events in history:
(1) Wrestlemania III, Silverdome: 88,000+ March 1987 (2) Rolling Stones, Superdome: 87,500 December 1981 (3) The Who, Silverdome 80,000+ December 1975
Pro football:
-- 1982 Superbowl, 81,270
Basketball:
-- U.S. Olympic Team, 67,596
Major-league baseball:
-- 1979 All-Star Game, 58,905
Boxing:
-- Ali vs. Spinks, 1978, 63,360
Pro basketball:
-- Detroit Pistons, Feb. 15, 1986, 44,180
/CONTACT: Michael Weber of the World Wrestling Federation, 203-352-8600; or Rich Bock or Howard E. Wishner, both of Wishner Communications, 212-883-0001, for WWF/