F1 News: USGP sales exploded when Verstappen dominance stopped (Update)

Bobby Epstein, executive chairman of COTA, home of the USGP, elaborated further: “We’re expecting another big crowd, probably somewhere around where it’s been the last couple years. I would think whatever the record is for a Saturday sprint race, we should shatter that record because Eminem has outsold Taylor Swift [who performed at the 2016 edition], and we’ve increased the size of the infield lawn to get to near 100,000 for the concert. So, I think 130,000 to 150,000 people will be there for the Saturday USGP sprint race.”

The addition of a Saturday night showdown between the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs, two top-ranked college football teams is expected to attract another 100,000 fans to DKR Texas Memorial Stadium, which presents a unique opportunity for COTA. As a result, Epstein has introduced a Friday-Sunday USGP combo ticket tailored for football fans attending the game. He added:

“We have wound up on the same weekend as college football games before, which makes for a fun downtown late night, but I don’t think we’ve had it where the Longhorns have been ranked as high,” Epstein said. “There are going to be a lot of people in town for that.

“I think it’s a chance, two-fold. One for the college football fan who likes sports and likes big events. If that’s your vernacular, then you’re going to like to make your weekend even bigger by adding on the USGP on Sunday.

“It’s a great opportunity for those fans, and then also for our fans who come for F1. I know the Europeans are particularly fond of college football, and in particular the halftime show. It’s surprising, but we have groups from Europe that come when there is a college football game, because it adds to their weekend and just elevates the experience overall.

“The football package is just something fun. We came up with it a couple of weeks ago because Saturday was selling out, largely because of Eminem, and we still have capacity on Sunday and Friday. So, we just said, let’s throw it out there for people that just [attend the football game]. I think most of the hotels are three or four night minimums, so if you’re a Georgia fan coming in for it and you say : ‘What else am I gonna do the rest of the weekend?’ Well, you can buy Friday and Sunday and come out to the track.”

(GMM) Promoters of the upcoming USGP in Austin at the Circuit of the Americas are happy that Max Verstappen is no longer dominating Formula 1.

Bobby Epstein, executive chairman of the Texan track, says ticket sales for the race weekend later this month “took off” when Red Bull began to struggle.

Reuters quotes him as saying he had expected the “weakest year since the pandemic” in terms of attendance if Verstappen had simply kept adding to his win tally.

It’s a blow, however, that the highly-popular Daniel Ricciardo, who often refers to the US GP as his ‘second home grand prix’, has been axed by RB owner Red Bull.

“I hope he’s still coming here because we’ve got a lot of people that would love to shake his hand or get his autograph or take a picture or just see him around town. We’ll keep him busy,” said Epstein.