The eyes of the world will be on Arlington Friday for what may be one of the most-watched sporting events ever.
Hundreds of millions of people could watch Mike Tyson fight Jake Paul at AT&T Stadium.
At a press conference Wednesday at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, the two met on stage for the final time before the match.
It’s a spectacle that’ll be streamed worldwide on Netflix in five different languages, according to Netflix.
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“Really excited to be able to bring this to Arlington,” said Brent DeRaad, CEO of the Arlington Convention and Visitors Bureau.
DeRaad expects between 40-50,000 people to attend the fight, down from the estimated 75,000 expected when it was originally scheduled in July.
“With concerns about Mike Tyson's health, I do think it took back a little bit of that momentum that we were seeing,” said DeRaad.
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The fight scheduled for July 20 had to be postponed after Tyson was hospitalized after falling ill.
Despite the four-month delay, it’s still driving a spike in travel, even rivaling demand seen for home Cowboys games.
Hotels.com reports a 260% increase in demand for Arlington area hotels the night of the fight compared to the same day last year, and that rates are up 80% compared to the same time last year.
“I’m of the generation, I’m about Tyson’s age, grew up watching him fight on TV. I’ve never seen him in person an so I’m thrilled to be there,” said DeRaad.
DeRaad estimates Arlington will land about 10 million dollars from visitors but says there's no price for the exposure from even a fraction of Netflix's 280 million subscribers.
“Having millions of viewers plus a decent crowd over at AT&T Stadium for this, I really think the future of pro boxing at AT&T Stadium here in Arlington is really strong,” said DeRaad.
Tyson has repeatedly said he is in good health.
The Tyson Paul fight is being sanctioned by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation which established rules earlier this year: It’ll be an eight-round contest with two-minute rounds and 14-ounce gloves.
