AEW Prohibited From Running Smaller Venues Due To Logistical Issue

AEW has faced challenges filling seats at recent events. Some fans have suggested booking smaller venues, but logistical issues have made that difficult.

Attendance for AEW Dynamite and Collision has dropped, and there are calls for the company to adapt by using smaller venues. Bryan Alvarez discussed this on Wrestling Observer Live, saying changes may be on the way, but it’s going to be difficult.

It was noted that certain logistical reasons have kept AEW in bigger venues. That being said, the company has discussed how to get that accomplished in 2025, so we may finally see a move in that direction.

“I’m gonna be kind of vague but it’s happening. I just don’t know all the technical details.” He explained that people within AEW have been advocating for the change.

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“I have been told that there is headway being made in running smaller buildings. Now you hear that and think, why does headway need to be made? Just book smaller buildings. Well apparently, there actually was a logistical reason why they were running a lot of larger buildings, and it had to do with the set and in particular, the lighting rig.”

“There was something that they had in their set that was basically too large and heavy to get into smaller buildings and so they have been working on retooling it so they can actually get their set into smaller buildings. So I think as the year 2025 kind of starts coming in, they’ve been talking about different ideas for production and everything like that. I think we’re going to finally get the move. There are gonna be smaller buildings. They’re gonna work on some production and hopefully, that will be a positive in terms of how the show looks, sounds. etc. on television. And they will save a lot of money.”

Last week, AEW Collision was moved from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, to GalaxyCon. The original venue, with a capacity of 20,000, had sold just over 1,000 tickets before the change. Obviously, this is an issue that AEW realizes they need to correct before things get out of hand.

AEW’s large set and lighting rig have been a barrier to using smaller venues. Adjusting their production setup could save money and create a more energetic atmosphere with fuller crowds on camera. Time will tell if these changes will help AEW’s events feel more engaging.

We will have to see what kind of venues AEW is able to book in 2025, but there are some really cool places out there. As WWE NXT proved with October 8 episode at Saint Louis’ The Factory set-up or with their November 6 show at the 2300 Arena, you can present a pro wrestling show in 2024 in a smaller venue and keep the atmosphere very much alive.