While Miami-Dade County gears to host its 10th NFL Super Bowl, the Miami-Dade Sports Commission awaits the results on a bid for another mega, super bowl style event, World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania.

Miami-Dade County is in the running for WWE's WrestleMania 27 in 2011 or WrestleMania 28 in 2012. Through the Miami-Dade Sports Commission, Miami flipped its hat into the ring.

``Our focus is 2011,'' said Mike Sophia, executive director of the Miami-Dade Sports Commission. ``Hopefully, it will happen.''

It would be the first WrestleMania in South Florida.

Miami is ready.

Sophia said: ``We will be so successful that WWE will want to return to Miami for more WrestleManias because we want them here, and we want them to come back.''

The revenue generated from such an undertaking is in the same conversation as an NFL Super Bowl, making WrestleMania a coveted event for any major city. Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle, Toronto and Orlando have hosted the extravaganza.

Speaking of Orlando, WrestleMania 24 pumped $50 million into the local Orlando economy in 2008 and set the Citrus Bowl attendance record with 74,635 fans from 50 states, five Canadian provinces and 21 countries -- generating more than $5.85 million in ticket sales.

WWE's John Saboor and Dennis Sullivan visited Miami for two days in mid-August, canvasing area facilities and hotels. Saboor, former president of the Central Florida Sports Commission who played a pivotal role in convincing WWE to bring WrestleMania 24 to Orlando, became WWE's new Senior Vice President, Special Events, a few months later.

In the newly created position, Saboor has primary responsibility for community partnerships, marketing, promotion and sponsorship support for WWE's special events, including WrestleMania, WWE's annual pop culture extravaganza.

Sophia along with Jose Pepe Diaz, sports commission chairman and a Miami-Dade county commissioner; Jarred Diamond, vice president of booking and assistant general manager with AmericanAirlines Arena; and William D. Talbert III, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and a sports commission board member, helped welcome Saboor and Sullivan.

The site check went well.

WWE considered 15 to 20 cities. About half or fewer were invited to Stanford, Conn., WWE's headquarters, to make their best pitch.

WWE, the publicly-traded empire led by Chairman Vincent Kennedy McMahon and the McMahon family, features WrestleMania annually in March or April. WWE is a family operation with Forbes-esq status.

Basically, Miami's contingent had 30 minutes to state its case before Shane McMahon, executive vice president of WWE Global Media; his father, Mr. McMahon; and roughly 10 WWE senior staff members.

``We fancy ourselves as good branders,'' Talbert said, ``but those people are some of the top brand specialists in the world. Everyone is on the same page, and when I talked to some of their senior managers, they've been there for a while, and that's always a good sign in a company.''

The locals focused on key points, and that was followed by a Q&A.

``There were a number of cities in the hunt, and it has been [trimmed] down, and we are still in it,'' Talbert said. ``We got a very good feeling. We have a special place here in Miami. We can distinguish ourselves from anybody else in the country.''

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