WWE Coronavirus updates: Contingency plans being prepared for WrestleMania 36; Potential financial impact revealed

It has been a rough few days for wrestling fans, especially those who have been planning to travel to Tampa for WrestleMania weekend. As reported by Fightful, WWE released a statement today through CBS Sports that while the company fully intends to move forward with the mega-event scheduled to emanate from Raymond James Stadium, they have been planning for the worst-case scenario.

"While we remain committed to hosting WrestleMania at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, April 5, we are putting contingency plans in place in the event that it is cancelled by government officials, civil authorities and/or local venues," the company said in a statement. "The health and safety of our fans, performers and employees are our top priorities and we are monitoring the situation closely with our partners and government officials in Tampa Bay."

There has been a great deal of speculation and confusion this week as to where the power lies in regard to whether or not the show will go on. It appears that WWE will be working hand-in-hand with local goverment in the Tampa Bay area, and when a decision is made, they intend to be ready to react and take appropriate action as swiftly as possible. It is not made clear in this statement, but one would also expect that this contingency would take into account all of the weekend's festivities. Those include the Hall of Fame induction ceramony, Friday Night SmackDown, NXT's Takeover: Tampa, and the RAW After WrestleMania, all of which are set to take place in the city's Amalie Arena. We'll report more on that if it becomes necessary.

WWE releases statement about possible financial impact of COVID-19

If all of that is not enough, WWE has also released a statement regarding how the pandemic could potentially affect the company and its financial stability as a whole.

WWE have released an official statement regarding the potential financial impact of COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/F458RB18AK

— Gary Cassidy (@consciousgary) March 12, 2020

Important takeaways from the statement include that WWE has over half a billion dollars ready for any action that may need to be taken in the wake of issues that arise from COVID-19. The company also cited that the costs related to postponing, relocating, and canceling events (mainly lost revenue from lack of ticket and merchandise sales) could be substantial enough to negatively impact their bottom line. Due to that, the publicly-traded corporation is withdrawing their previously communicated financial expectations for the year.