WrestleMania is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in the world.  First produced in 1985 this year marked the 26th consecutive event and the fourth that SGA has helped build.  SGA has worked with the WWE’s Brian Petree on some incredible shows and would like thank the organization for continuing to count on SGA to provide stadium infill seating at each venue.  Since first becoming involved in 2007 SGA has helped enhance sightlines, maximize attendance, and most importantly, help fill camera angles with thousands of lower-bowl fans with our stadium infill risers in Detroit, Orlando, Houston, and this year in Glendale at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Brent Klein, Director of Design in SGA’s CAD Department shares a bit of technical information on the two-week, 26-truck SGA installation:

"University of Phoenix Stadium is not able to accommodate rigging from the rafters, so WWE had to go with an outdoor set up. The preliminary plans were to use the spider legs first seen in the Citrus Bowl, however late in the process they decided to use a different system called “The Pyramid”. Our design team was able to incorporate the WWE's pyramid structure with minimal impact to the overall design and function of the risers.  A technical challenge was presented when we realized that the 10’ x 20’ bases needed to be tied together with a cable tie.  This last-minute challenge was overcome quickly with a call to local Southwest Scenic, who made custom ADA-Compliant access ramps that neatly and professionally covered the cable.  Having them work on this issue allowed SGA to keep our resources and crew hard at work on the custom gear we were already providing.

This was not our first gig in University of Phoenix stadium and thanks to an outstanding previous site inspection by Andrew Smith and Josh Mayer our CAD Department has a high level of dimensional detail on the stadium walls, structure and obstructions. We put this into use on the design for the stadium infill risers and the result is a seamless transition from the stadium design to the temporary riser design. This allowed us to give very specific requirements for custom decking to our Scenic department, who in turn knocked it out of the park with their attention to detail and build quality.

Our contact at University of Phoenix Stadium, Jimmy McDonald, has been instrumental to our past success at the venue for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Regionals. He helped streamline the permitting process that enabled SGA to pass all inspections quickly and successfully.  It’s important to note how strict the inspection process is at this level and how our designs, gear, and installations passed with flying colors."

Seeing the level of production values in this event it’s immediately apparent that this team not only knows how to do a world-class gig, they know how to create a level of excitement and spectacle that’s seen nowhere else in the world. SGA would like to thank Brian Petree and the entire WWE Family and Jimmy McDonald and the University of Phoenix Stadium crew for counting on us this year.  We look forward to next year’s event.