WrestleMania gives Levi’s Stadium pre-Super Bowl test

Alex Valencia, 6, of El Sobrante cheers on his favorite wrestlers during WrestleMania 31at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Sunday, March 29, 2015. Alex Valencia, 6, of El Sobrante cheers on his favorite wrestlers during WrestleMania 31at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Sunday, March 29, 2015. Photo: Jessica Christian, The Chronicle Photo: Jessica Christian, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 129 Caption Close WrestleMania gives Levi’s Stadium pre-Super Bowl test 1 / 129 Back to Gallery

To anyone associated with bringing Super Bowl 50 to Santa Clara in February, Sunday’s WrestleMania at Levi’s Stadium was a logistical dry run for the big game. A chance to see how they could herd tens of thousands of newcomers through a major international event.

For the people inside Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, the 31st incarnation of professional wrestling’s finest hour was their Super Bowl. And not just because, like most Super Bowls, the outcome was easy to predict before the contest started and it cost at least $1,000 to sit up close. Twice as much to be really close.

For them, this was about being part of a cultural moment. One that filled Levi’s Stadium with 76,976 pilgrims, most of whom shrugged off any traffic or transit delays to catch a glimpse of WrestleMania’s first appearance in Northern California.

“I might not ever get to see a Super Bowl,” said Nick Koliopoulos, a 26-year-old chef from Fremont, wearing a “Steve 3:16” T-shirt in homage to wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin.

“I didn’t think WrestleMania would ever come to the Bay Area,” said Nick’s brother, James Koliopoulos, a San Jose chef.

Indeed, the organic kale-craving swath of the Bay Area may wonder how the blue-collar ballet could draw any kind of crowd here. But for the past several days, wrestling fans have filled hotels in San Jose and packed events where they could get up close and personal with their favorite heroes and villains.

Big draw for Bay Area

Thanks to an estimated 70 percent of the fans making pilgrimages from outside the area, the events around WrestleMania 31 are expected to pump more than $100 million into the Bay Area economy.

And it was good for the promoters, too. Sunday's event grossed $12.6 million — a WrestleMania record.

As iconic wrestler Ric Flair would say: “Woooooooooooooooo.”

Fans mimicked Flair’s high-pitched chirp as they streamed off light-rail trains and into the stadium Sunday. VTA officials and fans said light-rail trains from the Fremont BART Station to the stadium were packed with an estimated 11,000 riders — 50 percent more than for the average 49ers game. The transit agency increased the number of express buses to accommodate all of the out-of-towners and started their expanded service four hours before the matches as opposed to three hours for Niners games.

“They’re packed, but so far they’re moving well,” VTA spokeswoman Brandi Childress said shortly before the event started.

Sunday was the first time that Levi's offered seats on the floor and in southwest corner of the stadium, the latter of which could be replicated at the Super Bowl.

"Operationally, I think we've had pretty positive reports so far," said Bob Lange, a spokesman for the San Francisco 49ers, which manage the stadium. They will know more by mid-week after analyzing post-mortem reports from the stadium's various departments.

One thing that didn’t change: Traffic was jammed around Levi’s Stadium much as for a Niners game. If this was a warm-up for the Super Bowl — when many of the fans will be navigating the stadium for the first time — there’s still some herding improvements to make. Many of the faithful showed up several hours early, even before the gates were open.

Another Bay Area staple that didn’t change: There were social movement demonstrations. OK, well, small rallies like the one Alameda attorney Daniel Cheung was promoting.

In the parking lot before the event, he was creating a sign that said, “Give divas a chance at concussions.” Cheung said that divas — wrestling parlance for female wrestlers — don’t get enough airtime.

“This is a social commentary,” Cheung said. Wrestling, for him, “is like performance art. A soap opera. It’s like theater.”

Celebrity surprises

Much like the Super Bowl, there were tons of pyrotechnics and a few celebrity cameos. Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, wrestler-turned-movie-star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and mixed martial arts star Ronda Rousey were in attendance.

The stadium was two-thirds full at 3 p.m., when the preliminary matches started. It was full by the time the main event started, and unlike at many Niners games, fans didn’t flee the red seats on the side of the stadium that gets hot in mid-afternoon — even when the temperature hit 79 degrees.

Gary Tittle didn’t bolt from his perch one row from the top of the stadium even though the wrestlers looked like gnats from there. He kept flashing from the ring to the giant video screen to keep pace.

But leave? No. Pilgrims don’t wilt when they come to Mecca.

“Nah, I think we’ll stick it out,” said Tittle, a registered nurse from Manteca who paid $100 on a ticket resale site for the privilege of being in the house. And yes, even though he was cradling a Sting mask in his lap, he knows wrestling ain’t real.

It’s fake, and that’s OK

“Even my (12-year-old) daughter told me, 'Hey Daddy, plot twist: It’s fake.’” Tittle said, “I know. I still like it.”

Fans — from the full luxury boxes to the cheap seats — stayed until the last body slam.

“WrestleMania only comes once in a lifetime,” said Eden Gutierrez, a San Francisco mail carrier who paid $500 for his floor-level seat. He carried a 15-pound gold-plated replica championship belt over his shoulder. “What surprised me is that there were so many people coming here from all over the world. I thought I was a die-hard, but there are a lot of people here that are bigger die-hards than me.”

The problem with die-hards staying until the end is that traffic heading home was knotted. Another thing to figure out before the other Super Bowl comes to town.

An hour after the last match ended, the line to wait for light rail trains stretched for more than 100 yards outside the stadium. Some reported waiting in line for than 20 minutes for their train.

"I kind of expected this," said Danny Nguyen as he waited in line. "At least it's better than it was for the Oregon" college football game played at Levi's Stadium last December.

Joe Garofoli is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli