Joel Coliseum Promoters Aiming for Long-Term Deal with AEW

AEW has been part of the world of professional wrestling for well over five years now and they have seen a lot of growth in quite a few places, but the costs have also increased as a result. With that said, it appears the Joel Coliseum promoters are aiming for a long-term deal with AEW.

According to Winston-Salem Journal, the promoters of Joel Coliseum and AEW are aiming to make a significant impact as mainstream professional wrestling returns to Winston-Salem on Wednesday. Their shared objective is to establish the coliseum as a regular venue for AEW’s live televised events, potentially paving the way for a profitable pay-per-view event in the future.

AEW will broadcast its live Dynamite show from 8 to 10 p.m. on TBS, followed by a Rampage taping from 10 to 11 p.m., which airs on TNT. The coliseum, a key venue for professional wrestling from the 1960s until 2001, has hosted only one major wrestling event in the past 23 years. The last significant event at Joel Coliseum was a WWE Monday Night Raw show on January 9, 2023, which drew a crowd of 7,088.

The AEW event represents the culmination of nearly ten months of discussions between AEW and ASM Global, which started in September. ASM Global has been promoting events at the coliseum on behalf of Wake Forest University, the venue’s owner.

Brandon Berry, the coliseum’s general manager, emphasized that AEW is a valuable partner for ASM on a national level and that the goal is to leverage this partnership to introduce AEW Live to the Winston-Salem market. Discussions about an AEW event began soon after ASM took over promotional duties. Although the original plan was for a spring event, scheduling conflicts pushed the date to late spring.

“AEW is a great partner of ASM nationally and works in many of our facilities. We are excited to leverage that national relationship as a way to introduce AEW Live to the Winston-Salem market,” Berry said. “Pay per view and other broadcasts are all options that both parties will continue to explore.

We had originally planned on an event in the spring, but due to some scheduling conflicts, the date needed to get pushed,” Berry said. “We were finally able to confirm in late spring.”

Berry noted that the coliseum benefits from having infrastructure in place due to its role as the home for Wake Forest basketball games. Extensive preparation has been undertaken to ensure a smooth event, involving the AEW team, production and operations teams, filming crew, network, and fans.

”Preparation and planning happened months ago, and we have been working diligently with the AEW team to ensure a smooth event for all those involved, including the production and operations teams, filming crew and network, and most importantly, the fans that will be attending the event.”

Additionally, there is a potential incentive for future AEW events, with a 25% rebate available on qualifying expenses for film productions in North Carolina. This rebate, funded through the N.C. Film and Entertainment Grant, requires at least $500,000 in operating expenses per episode to qualify.

Stephanie Pace Brown, president and CEO of Visit Winston-Salem, pointed out that her organization collaborates with ASM Global to attract groups that bring overnight visitors to Winston-Salem. Her team has been working on a large corporate meeting for next spring and regularly engages in trade shows and bid packages for sports and convention groups.

“We have been working together for months to assist a large corporate meeting for next spring. Our teams have traveled to trade shows together to represent the destination, and we commonly work on bid packages together for sports and convention groups.”

Tony Khan continues to pour money into AEW but isn’t really making an overall profit. Regardless, we will have to wait and see whether AEW will end up securing a long-term deal with Joel Coliseum, similar to what they managed to get for Arlington, Texas, as fans want AEW to succeed.

What do you think of this story concerning AEW and Joel Coliseum? Do you feel the partnership will be a successful one? Sound off in the comments section below!