WEC Eyeing Sacramento As Anchor City
June 7, 2009
Much like the UFC has done with Columbus, Ohio, the WEC is looking to make Sacramento an anchor city on their regular touring schedule. WEC General Manager Reed Harris spoke with The Sac Bee and stated what could be in the cards for California’s capital city:
WEC and arena staff anticipate more than 12,000 fans in attendance today, a similar turnout to the 12,682 fans at Faber’s last fight in Sacramento. Faber defeated veteran Jens Pulver last June at Arco.
The WEC’s back-to-back June visits aren’t a coincidence, said Reed Harris, WEC general manager.
“I think we will do an annual trip here,” Harris said. “I would actually like to come more than once a year.”
The WEC, formed in 2001, typically averages around 6,000 fans at other venues, with Sacramento setting the record for attendance.
Faber’s popularity in the area as well as his growing stable of fighters that train with his camp could make for a continuing strong regional draw. Joseph Benavides is another WEC fighter in the Faber’s camp who is making waves and could be used as a focus as a strong semi-main guy on the cards. Faber’s Team Alpha Male club would also be a a source to draw from to generate local interest. The WEC’s success in Sacramento is the centerpiece of a larger strategy by the WEC.
The WEC has been very proactive about making the WEC a road show. After a prolonged period of holding shows in Vegas after the Zuffa takeover, they have increasingly looked to spread their wings and hit the road. Economics have surely played a role in this trend. Vegas shows at the Hard Rock generally do in the $100,000 gate range, give or take. The last card in Sacramento did over $700,000 at the gate. Other forays have been profitable with San Diego doing near $500k, Corpus Christi doing $300k, Hollywood FL doing $550k. The costs of doing the road shows are higher but the larger gates make for a better chance at making the ends meet. Without PPV monies rolling in just yet for the WEC and with license fees from Versus being modest, the gate numbers play a much bigger role in things than with the larger UFC.
The WEC road strategy can also be valuable to Zuffa in one respect, being something of a canary in a coal mine to test the viability of certain markets. There is also the possibility of using the WEC to get in and make a profitable payday for the organization before bringing the larger UFC in. If and when New York legalizes MMA, I would capitalize on the pent up demand by putting on WEC cards in places like Buffalo or Albany before doing the big show that everyone sees the UFC doing from MSG in NYC.
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