Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jose ``Pepe'' Diaz helped lead the charge when the Miami-Dade Sports Commission entered a bid to host World Wrestling Entertainment's WrestleMania, the super bowl of pro wrestling/sports entertainment, in 2011 or 2012.

``We want every sport event to circle around Miami-Dade County,'' said Diaz, also the sports commission chairman. ``We believe we need to go after everything, whether it's WrestleMania, the Super Bowl, World Cup. It gets jobs locally here, and we have the venues for it, and we're prepared for it.''

Diaz feels confident.

``WrestleMania is a perfect fit for us,'' he said. ``It's world recognition. It's a very powerful event, the super bowl of wrestling/sports entertainment. We believe we have the entities to make it a profitable situation not only for WWE but for Miami-Dade County citizens.''

In 2008, WrestleMania 24 pumped $50 million into the local Orlando economy 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.

``It's not only using Land Shark Stadium,'' Diaz said. ``It's the AmericanAirlines Arena. It's also South Beach, and it's also the Miami Beach Convention Center. It's such a huge event that it takes up all four during the week which is the first time I think that would happen.''

Miami loves hosting colossal events.

``We're looking to intensify in bringing to this county these types of events, continuously,'' Diaz said. ``We believe, economically, it's huge for us. We have the venues. We have the beauty. We have the water. We have the people to make this all happen. The people here are used to catering to millions of people coming in and participating, whether it's the Super Bowl or whatever it is.

``I think the fit with WWE and the Miami-Dade County Sports Commission, you can't get any better. They're great people in WWE.''

Diaz respects WWE.

``They have a great, great product,'' Diaz said, ``and we believe in our product, and our product is Miami-Dade County.

``They are true professionals. They know what they are doing. To them, it's like second nature.

``Now, we're sitting and waiting. We don't exactly know how many cities or which cities are finalists. I think we're one of two, maybe. We're keeping our fingers crossed and hoping were in.''

The decision may come within a month.

When the South Florida contingent -- also including Mike Sophia, Miami-Dade Sports Commission executive director; 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 -- traveled to Stanford, Conn. last week, Diaz opened and closed.

``Pepe brings a lot to the table in terms of not only the sports commission but also the broader resources of central county government,'' Talbert said. ``So Pepe led off and talked about the great place we have.''

Diaz said: ``Basically, I talked about the entity -- Miami-Dade County and its 35 cities -- and our diversity, and the gateway that we are. I also brought the government side of things to the table. Mike Sophia brought every detail of the presentation, and Bill Talbert brought all the other aspects, the hotels what Miami represents, the numbers, the stats.''

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