The UFC Heads To Toronto, And Is Going Big

Added on Feb 08, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

The UFC are going big for UFC 129. How big? Stadium big, and its something the UFC has never done. The UFC is entering the Toronto market for the first time when they invade the Rogers Centre on April 30, and it is certain to shatter the North American attendance record.

If you have never been to a live UFC event, even if you don’t like the promotion, you walk away knowing that the UFC puts a great deal into the production of the event. Historically, the UFC sought venues under the 24,000 seat capacity, but the Rogers Centre will be configured to hold 42,000. If they manage to fill the stadium, it will be close to doubling the largest crowd the promotion has ever drawn.

UFC President Dana White admitted that they were always nervous when deciding if they should do an event in a stadium. The production has always been important to the UFC, and the UFC wants to keep the same vibe. White said “We were always freaked out about doing a huge stadium like this. “What I think has helped the UFC get as big as it has is the live event experience and the last guy on Earth that wants to ruin that is me. I’m always all about the fans. I never want the fans to not only turn off their television and say that sucked, I don’t want the fans to walk away, who bought tickets, to have a bad experience either. We’re going to do things in this arena that we’ve never done in any arena before. Instead of people worrying about is this experience going to be the same, it’s not. It’s going to be better. We’re taking it to a whole new level.”

Tom Wright, UFC Director of Canadian Operations, reminded everyone that the stadium is able to hold 60,000 fans, but the UFC is trying to enhance the fan experience. One way they are doing this, is they will have double the amount of large video screens for the fans to watch who can’t see into the octagon.

They also want to reassure fans that buy tickets, that they will be able to see the event. To do this they have created a 3d rendition of the arena. Basically, a fan could enter their seat number and see the exact view they would have the night of the fight. Wright said “You’ll be able to see the entire venue in a 3D, 360-degree view. So you’ll be able to see exactly what your view will look like if you’re sitting in the 100 section, if you’re sitting on the floor, you’ll be able to see exactly how the stadium will look.”

An obviously excited White chimed in “Tom actually came up with this idea, which is awesome. We are so confident in the experience we’re gonna give you, we created this 3D rendition, where you can actually go inside and sit in your seat, when you buy that seat, and you can see what your view is from your seat.”