WWE Wrestlemania 36 Remains On Schedule Despite Coronavirus Fears, McMahon's XFL Canceled

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.'s WWE Wrestlemania 36 will take place as scheduled on April 5 despite the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, Tampa officials have decided for the time being.

WWE Has Contingency Plan

"Right now WrestleMania is out about three weeks," Hillsborough Commissioner Les Miller said Thursday at a press conference, as reported by Forbes. "We came to the conclusion that at this point, we don't want to pull that plug."

The Tampa officials will reconvene a week later to review their decision, and the Wrestlemania could still be postponed or scrapped for this year.

In a statement, WWE said that it has "contingency plans" in place in case the event is "canceled by government officials, civil authorities and/or local venues."

"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."

XFL Inaugural Season Canceled

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's revived XFL football league has been cancelled for the rest of this season on Thursday.

In a statement, XFL said that all ticket holders would either get refunds or credit for watching future games. All players would also "be paid their base pay and benefits for the 2020 regular season," XFL said.

The announcement came following the cancellation of all major sporting events around the country including those of the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the National Hockey League.

Health experts recommend avoiding mass gatherings to curb the spread of the virus that has infected more than 128,000 people globally and killed 4,720, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of cases in the United States have risen to 1,6663 including 40 deaths.

Price Action

WWE's shares closed 16.61% lower at $32.38 on Thursday and dropped further at $32.11 in the after-hours session.