WWE fans, Royal Rumble 2019 is coming to Chase Field in Phoenix

Big news for WWE fans: The Royal Rumble, one of the organization’s largest events, will take place at Chase Field in Phoenix on Jan. 27, 2019.

“We have an incredibly rich history and heritage of presenting WWE events in the Valley of the Sun,” said John Saboor, WWE executive vice president of special events. “In many respects, this serves as an exciting opportunity to work with longstanding and new partners in Phoenix to create four nights of memories.”

For those out of the WWE loop, the Royal Rumble is one of the organization’s “Big Four” shows, along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Survivor Series. It marks the start of WrestleMania season and is based on the "battle royal" concept, featuring a large number of wrestlers, usually 30, entering the ring at timed intervals. The winner gets a title shot at WrestleMania.

The Royal Rumble will be part of a four-day series of events that will be housed at nearby Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The closeness of the two venues is one reason Phoenix was chosen, Saboor said.

“One thing that is a clear advantage is the close proximity between Talking Stick Resort Arena and Chase Field,” he said during a phone call. “It makes for a seamless experience for our fans. You are able to fly into the airport, travel to downtown and stay in a hotel, enjoy restaurants and shopping and transportation — all downtown.”

The Phoenix event will mark the first Royal Rumble to be held inside a Major League ballpark, a coup for the city. That seems like it would be a challenge in terms of logistics, but Saboor says logistics are always a challenge.

Every year, “we design something endemic to that particular facility,” he said. “They are built to fit the stadium that we are going to be in. The same will be true here. It’s unlike a concert tour, with 100 semis that pull and put up the same setup. We go into the venue and design the set with the backdrop of that facility. Oftentimes, that set will never be used again.”

Saboor said site visits to Phoenix to start planning will begin no later than March.

He estimates the crowd at Chase Field will be in excess of 40,000; the events at Talking Resort Arena should draw more than 15,000 fans nightly. Obviously, that’s a lot of people.

“What’s exciting about hosting four consecutive nights ... in downtown Phoenix is that the city will serve as an important point of appeal for the WWE universe,” Saboor said. “It’s another reason for our fans to descend early, stay late and spend more. It’s a very powerful synergy that’s created by the presentation of four consecutive nights.”

This year's Royal Rumble will take place Sunday, Jan. 28, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It's the first to include a women's Royal Rumble match, an event that will be repeated in Phoenix.

The last time a Royal Rumble was held in Phoenix was in 2013 at the downtown arena, then called US Airways Center.

The schedule includes:

· Saturday, Jan. 26: NXT TakeOver at Talking Stick Resort Arena

· Sunday, Jan. 27: Royal Rumble at Chase Field

· Monday, Jan. 28: Monday Night Raw at Talking Stick Resort Arena

· Tuesday, Jan. 29: SmackDown Live at Talking Stick Resort Arena

Additional details, including ticket availability information and travel packages, will be announced in the near future.

Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849. Twitter.com/randy_cordova.

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