UFC In Atlanta: Another Town, Another Venue Record
September 6, 2008
The UFC continues their trend of setting venue gross receipts records wherever they go. Last month it was a record gate at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution brings news that they have set the new record for Phillips Arena:
In 1998, light heavyweight Chuck Liddell fought “in some small place†in Mobile, his MMA debut earning him around $1,000. Saturday, as one of the UFC’s stars, he’s working the big room, a nearly sold-out Philips Arena. Liddell headlines the UFC 88 pay-per-view production, facing undefeated Rashad Evans. His is a mid-six-figure payday this time.
It shapes up as the biggest mixed martial arts show ever in Atlanta, and the biggest fight night of any kind here since Evander Holyfield fought Vaughn Bean inside the Georgia Dome (1998).
“It’s the single largest one-day sporting event gross in the [nine-year] history of the building,†said Kevin Preast, the senior director of marketing and business development for Philips Arena.
A big show with a big price tag: Tickets range from $600 to $80.
That is a strong showing after some initial doubt on Atlanta’s reception for mixed martial arts.
