ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tens of thousands of professional wrestling fans will descend upon Tropicana Field on Saturday, and drivers should be aware of the extra traffic downtown.

The WWE will stage its yearly Royal Rumble event, with gates opening at 5:30 and pre-show starting at 7:30. 

Fans are encouraged to plan ahead for transportation and parking.

Prepaid parking is sold out for the event. Fans who did not prepay for parking are encouraged to seek off-site parking options, use rideshare services or use public transit. For more information including bag and building policies, click here.

Also, SunRunner is offering free shuttle service through the Downtown Looper.

You can also use our Real Time Traffic Map to check road conditions downtown.

Wrestlers on the card include Cody Rhodes, CM Punk, Bobby Lashley, Damian Priest, Becky Lynch and Nia Jax.

Outside of the pandemic, when the company held most of its shows in Florida, the only other time the Royal Rumble was held in the Bay area was 1995 at the USF Sun Dome.

Officials with Visit St. Pete Clearwater said the media exposure alone from the Royal Rumble is worth about $2 million and that tickets have ben sold in all 50 states.