IndyCar: Music City Grand Prix Update from Mike Zizzo
AR1 was able to speak with Mike Zizzo, the strategic business advisor and organizer of the event, about the outcome of the Music City Grand Prix and the future plans.
Zizzo, who has been in motorsports leadership for two decades, responded. “The event has been very successful. The enthusiasm of the entire community, the city and the businesses has been phenomenal. It should be an awesome day today. The weekend has been great so far.”
“With a first year event, you have your typical hiccups. Whether it is construction or just vendors. We have worked through some of those. We are looking forward to a great day for our patrons.”
” I am thrilled to announce that Grandstand 6 will be up and running today for the marquee race. As we mentioned to those patrons yesterday, they will be fully refunded for the two days they were not in their grandstand, even though we did relocate them to over grandstands.”
“We should be close to capacity and the numbers we usually look at would be similar to a Titans football game. We are expecting a great crowd today. We were sold out of hospitality and the high-end suites months ago. Grandstands will look great today on TV. We should be at capacity.”
“The event is a three-year contract. We are excited about that. We are building and learning from our first year. We have a running list of things that we want to improve and things that we have learned. In a first year, a temporary street course is difficult. We have been so fortunate that Nissan Stadium has been a great partner and a great facility to work with. ”
“The event should be on the same first weekend of August next year. That could change slightly but that is the plan right now.”
“The Nashville Sports Council has been very instrumental in providing us with volunteers throughout the week. At all levels, not just media but operations and such. They are another partner completely behind this event.”
“I would love to give kudos to Tony Cotman on the design of the racetrack. Very challenging to get a footprint around this area. He started with Nissan Stadium and built out from there. The Korean War Veterans Memorial Bridge is an iconic look with the city backdrop. I loved hearing the drivers come in and say the track is challenging and technical. Kudos to Cotman on what you have built here.”
Lucille Dust Reporting for AutoRacing1.com