The American Market

[Everso Biggyballies]

Bottom post of the previous page:

not sure where you got your prices from, but I was offered Grandstand tickets starting at $975 for the worst grandstand. Start finish straight was $2750. General admission for Sunday alone was $750. This was direct from the race organizers (not re-sellers).

.... and from what I understand the resellers were charging from $2000 for the cheap tickets.

[MonteCristo]

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of years. Will the excitement die down? Or will they maintain it? *shrug*

[Aty]

European actual population and by extension potential F1 market is double in size that of US. Liberty should take care of it from that perspective, and behave properly in traditional and original GP markets, which are in Europe. Somehow however I doubt they will take that opportunity, and develop it into its fulness, something what BE has neglected to do for his lust of money. Should VAG come out of current situation empty handed, perhaps something else will be born of it; like A Manufacturers Racing League... (I have that dream again).

[Ruslan]

Article from the Canadian GP race promoter (also could not get tickets there): https://www.grandprix.com/news/race-bos ... arity.html

I like this quote: "I am convinced that Bernie Ecclestone would never have authorised such a thing. It was Liberty Media who understood that Netflix would promote the sport and contribute to greater popularity, and it is beyond our expectations," he added.

Yea, but it was more than that. Ecclestone had an attitude about America. He had taken multiple steps to kill U.S. interest in F1 starting with his loss of the U.S. GP in Long Beach, a big successful event that could not make a profit.

[Ruslan]

Another rather long article about the U.S. Market: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-s ... dc08d32d09

A few highlights:
1. ESPN, which owns the rights to F1 in the U.S. market, has seen its F1 viewership surge, with the 2021 season the most watched in the U.S.
2. Thus far through the 2022 season, F1 races are averaging 1.1 million viewers, a 22% jump over the same period last year.
3. With F1’s global audience close to around 70 million viewers every race weekend,
4. Netflix recently announced it's renewed “Drive to Survive” for an additional two more seasons.
5. With the U.S. being Aston Martin’s number one market, it’s not surprising the brand was happy to see another race in the states. (Aston’s rivals McLaren and Ferrari also count the U.S. as their top markets.)

[Vassago]

I assume Liberty wants to sell F1 in USA in a similar way to WWE? More clowns & smokeshows than anyone in Europe would tolerate?

[Everso Biggyballies]

Apparently a grandstand ticket for this Miami race was $640 and the food/drinks were at the prices you see in cinemas. That seems way, way too high.

That was the official price. What they were changing hands for was a lot different.....

SeatGeek revealed the event’s raceday tickets had an average resale price of $2414. By comparison, Austin’s COTA tickets are reselling at just over $1k, while NASCAR’s Daytona 500 was $311 and the upcoming Indy 500 is $361. A buddy of mine bought six tickets, then sold four – two of which covered the seats he used himself. Then he made a $3k profit on the other pair!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-m ... /10303371/

[PTRACER]

Apparently a grandstand ticket for this Miami race was $640 and the food/drinks were at the prices you see in cinemas. That seems way, way too high.

That was the official price. What they were changing hands for was a lot different.....

SeatGeek revealed the event’s raceday tickets had an average resale price of $2414. By comparison, Austin’s COTA tickets are reselling at just over $1k, while NASCAR’s Daytona 500 was $311 and the upcoming Indy 500 is $361. A buddy of mine bought six tickets, then sold four – two of which covered the seats he used himself. Then he made a $3k profit on the other pair!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-m ... /10303371/

So touts got in on the action? They really need to do something about that.

[Everso Biggyballies]

Apparently a grandstand ticket for this Miami race was $640 and the food/drinks were at the prices you see in cinemas. That seems way, way too high.

That was the official price. What they were changing hands for was a lot different.....

SeatGeek revealed the event’s raceday tickets had an average resale price of $2414. By comparison, Austin’s COTA tickets are reselling at just over $1k, while NASCAR’s Daytona 500 was $311 and the upcoming Indy 500 is $361. A buddy of mine bought six tickets, then sold four – two of which covered the seats he used himself. Then he made a $3k profit on the other pair!

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-m ... /10303371/

So touts got in on the action? They really need to do something about that.

Seems to be more Joe Public buying the maximum buy limit they have to thwart Touts.... say half a dozen tickets... and then flogging the few they dont need for a profit to cover their own costs. (Like in the quote above).

That might help explain the very swift sellout of tickets when they first went on sale a few months ago. @XcraigX being local to the race might know. I know he was looking at tickets until the prices went crazy.

[XcraigX]

It's hard to understand if it was actually sold out or not.
My problem was not with the resellers. I was getting ticket offers direct from the event (I signed up last year).
Round 1 was premium grandstands only - $3500 for the weekend
Round 2 was regular grandstands - $2500 for the weekend (perhaps there were some cheaper one's sold out by the time I clicked?)
Round 3 was general admission - $675 for Sunday only. $300 for a Friday & Saturday extension for GA.

So if it did sell out and people were marking them up and selling again, it must have been even crazier. I stopped looking after figuring out I was not going to pay over 2K for grandstand tickets and I often find GA tickets not worth it because of poor sightlines and crowds.

[Ruslan]

Yea, those prices are absurd. And then you add in travel, hotels, food and drink, it is a very expensive weekend, especially as the alternative is to watch in the comfort of your TV room for two hours and have the rest of the weekend at your disposal.

[PTRACER]

Yea, those prices are absurd. And then you add in travel, hotels, food and drink, it is a very expensive weekend, especially as the alternative is to watch in the comfort of your TV room for two hours and have the rest of the weekend at your disposal.

And at the end of it you rate it a 4/10 anyway.

Actually this is why I have never been to an F1 race before.

[MonteCristo]

Yea, those prices are absurd. And then you add in travel, hotels, food and drink, it is a very expensive weekend, especially as the alternative is to watch in the comfort of your TV room for two hours and have the rest of the weekend at your disposal.

And at the end of it you rate it a 4/10 anyway.

Actually this is why I have never been to an F1 race before.

I've been to two or three, and honestly, Friday and Saturday are pretty cool. Well, that time with the one lap qualifying was pretty crap... but anyway.

Seeing the speed and energy in the cars when they corner is phenomenal.

But the race itself? Meh. You see the cars circle, and that's cool. But there are more people, and you jostle for position in the GA areas. You can't move elsewhere if you get a decent spot. And if you're in a grandstand you have your more comfortable but also single vantage point.

The odds of something incredibly memorable happening right in front of you is next to nothing. And the atmosphere is... odd.

Many people aren't hardcore F1 fans. Like at Miami, they're event fans. It's likely a different experience in Europe at traditional venues with a 'more knowledgeable set'. But even then, you probably have a lot of Italians at Monza who are screaming not because they're diehard Ferrari fans, but because they think they have to scream because they're Italians at an F1 race with a Ferrari in front of them!

[Star]

I've never been to a race, I always figure I'm better off at home, I get to see everything I need to and I get replays of the important stuff. I can also sit in comfort, it doesn't matter what the weather does and I don't have to sit next to someone who might yell and scream a lot or worse, let off one of those smoke cannister things.

There's a lot to be said for watching from home. I know you don't get the sights, smells and the 'atmosphere' but I'm okay with that.

In all honesty, I would have liked to experience it, at least once, but I know it's not going to happen and I'm fine with it now.

[Aty]

I've been in person at the race on several locations (Kyalami, Spa, Suzuka, Germany...), and I think every fan ought to go at least once. Noise, smell, inconvenience, mud, but also irreplaceable atmosphere which builds up slowly from Friday afternoon, as boys and girls smile, sing, or just simply lay on the blanket, and almost everyone is talking all the time. Woodstock of racing. (In that time we didn't have iPhones). In more modern times I have to actually admit, that a large TV with iPad in the front of me gives me more information in comfort of my home, without having to sell my liver for cup of coffee. (My favorite drug of choice.) I do not visit racing grounds anymore.

[Ruslan]

Yea, those prices are absurd. And then you add in travel, hotels, food and drink, it is a very expensive weekend, especially as the alternative is to watch in the comfort of your TV room for two hours and have the rest of the weekend at your disposal.

And at the end of it you rate it a 4/10 anyway.

Actually this is why I have never been to an F1 race before.

I've been to two or three, and honestly, Friday and Saturday are pretty cool. Well, that time with the one lap qualifying was pretty crap... but anyway.

Yea, it is the whole weekend. It is part of the reason why I always objected to the single-day qualifying. I liked them having to run in anger on Friday. It is part of the reason why I suspect the qualifying race will be a success. It is also why I don't think they will ever (or should ever) get rid of the three day weekend. The Fridays and Saturdays are often better for the race fans then the Sunday race. You get to walk around, view the track and cars on the track from different vantage points, see the people and drivers up close (used to... not now) and so on.