World Wrestling Entertainment announced WrestleMania 25 generated a $49.8 million economic windfall for the greater Houston area, according to a study conducted by the Enigma Research Corporation.

Despite one of the biggest economic downturns in recent history, local and state governments collected $5.7 million in taxes. This follows the $51.5 million of economic impact WrestleMania XXIV brought to Orlando in 2008.

``Having the opportunity to host WrestleMania was a huge honor and success,'' said Greg Ortale, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitor's Bureau. ``The direct expenditure demonstrates that WrestleMania is indeed economically on par with the world's greatest sports and entertainment offerings.''

John P. Saboor, Senior Vice President of Special Events for World Wrestling Entertainment, said: ``Our overarching goal with our public and private sector partners is to consistently provide positive economic impact for WrestleMania's host communities and establish a lasting pro-social legacy.''

A capacity crowd of 72,744 from 50 states, 24 countries and seven Canadian provinces attended the pop culture extravaganza.

• Key highlights from the study include:

There was $49.8 million of direct, indirect and induced impact derived from spending by non-locals visiting specifically for WrestleMania 25, equating to 600 full-time jobs for the area.

During WrestleMania Week, 86 percent of out of state, overnight visitors, who came in for the festivities, stayed in local Houston area hotels. Of those, 67 percent stayed for three nights or more.

Nearly 75 percent of fans, who attended WrestleMania 25, from outside of Houston traveled by air.

About 23 percent of fans who came from out of state were from California and New York.

Nearly 65 percent of fans who attended were between age 10 and 34.

• WrestleMania 26 will occur March 28 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. (MST) Saturday, Nov. 7 through the University of Phoenix Stadium box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 1-800-745-3000. The event will be broadcast live on pay-per-view and viewed in more than 100 countries.

• Enigma Research Corporation is an international consulting firm that specializes in measuring the economic impact of special events. Enigma's economists developed a customized model that converted expenditures into economic impact, employment created and taxes generated from an event.

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