F1 meets Georgia-Texas: Austin prepares for one of its biggest sporting weekends

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AUSTIN, Texas – There is a large, multi-colored billboard right in front of the Circuit of the Americas.

On the right side, the Formula 1 logo, the dates of Sting and Eminem’s concerts and the logos of the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs can be seen on a black background. On the left is a phrase that can be seen in various parts of Austin this weekend: “The Greatest Weekend Ever.”

The United States Grand Prix has been held during the college football season since COTA was added to the calendar in 2012 (with the exception of 2022 when COVID-19 impacted Formula 1’s schedule). The two sports have competed on the same weekends in Austin, including in 2013 when Texas lost to Oklahoma State, 2015 when it beat Kansas State and 2017’s overtime loss to Oklahoma State.

But this weekend’s game, in which the top-ranked Longhorns beat the no.

ESPN’s College GameDay is also in town, and the media company is planning numerous crossover games between F1 and college football this weekend, such as live segments from COTA’s SportsCenter and the Elle Duncan Show also on site . Legendary football coach Nick Saban took a hot spin on Friday and Jess Sims tested the knowledge of several American college football drivers, including Lando Norris.

It’s a weekend like Formula 1 has never experienced, especially since the popularity boom.

“It’s really exciting to see these two cultures mix because they’re both just amazing. Iconic American college football and Formula 1 racing,” said Drew Martin, Texas Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs. “These are truly unique and distinctive sporting cultures and when you see them come together on a weekend like this, it doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world.”

College football game days, particularly within the SEC, are a completely different matter.

Sure, there are the typical tailgates and ritual cheers. But Texas is doing one better as the university is reinventing game day in Austin. Martin said, “When you come to a University of Texas football game, you will experience the best of Austin culture, and that starts with the live music capital of the world.”

The Longhorns perform a pregame concert at Longhorn City Limits, inspired by the city’s street festival culture such as Bevo Boulevard. And then there’s Smokey’s Midway, a nod to the State Market.

“It is absolutely the best environment for football games in the country, although not traditional,” Martin added. “It’s not about your vast area and area and area of increasingly dense properties. It’s actually a huge three-ring circus.”

And when College GameDay comes to town, the chaos increases a bit. Texas received notice over a week in advance, but this is the fifth time in seven years the university has hosted the production. It’s definitely a huge logistical feat, says Martin, but given the relationships they’ve built over the years, “it’s more of a known unity of what they need, what they expect, how they feel around the show “The fan base is there because we won’t start the game until 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.”

It’s going to be a marathon day – College GameDay for three hours in the morning, and then the festivities begin.

“I know that Europeans particularly like college football, especially the halftime show. “It’s surprising, but we have groups from Europe who come when there’s a college football game because it enriches their weekend, and they especially enjoy the marching band halftime shows,” said COTA Chairman Bobby Epstein. “And it’s something that we might take for granted here, but the pomp and circumstance and all the fun surrounding the college football atmosphere is something that is so uniquely American that we know our foreign visitors like and pay attention to it on weekends to improve the overall experience.”

Between the Texas-Georgia game and Formula 1, Epstein expects “at least a quarter of a million people in downtown Austin that night” by Saturday. Martin estimates that over 100,000 people will be on the college campus in downtown Austin that evening.

F1 qualifying runs from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. CT and the college football game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT, making it a tight race for those attending both sporting events. There is no added pressure when it comes to safety or traffic management. COTA and Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium are approximately 17.5 miles apart (if you take toll roads). But Eminem’s concert will also take place that evening.

Saturday’s slate is full, but COTA has put together another ticket package option for soccer fans called the “Split the Uprights Package.” Epstein said, “Saturday was sold out, mostly because of Eminem,” but there were still spots available for Friday and Sunday. It is a combination of general admission tickets for Friday and Sunday at a discounted price of $289. According to COTA, this is cheaper than single tickets per day.

Between the Texas-Georgia game and Formula 1, Epstein expects “at least a quarter of a million people in downtown Austin that night” by Saturday. Martin estimates there will be over 100,000 people on the college campus in downtown Austin that evening.

F1 qualifying is scheduled to take place from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. CT, and the college football game begins at 6:30 p.m. CT. So it’s a short amount of time for participants in both sporting events. There is no added pressure when it comes to safety or traffic management. COTA and Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium are approximately 17.5 miles apart (if you take toll roads). But Eminem’s concert will also take place that evening.

There are reminders of the Georgia-Texas game all over the F1 paddock. (Courtesy of ESPN)

“I think most hotels have three- or four-night minimum stays,” Epstein said. “So if you’re a Georgia fan, ask yourself, ‘What else am I going to do for the rest of the weekend?’ Well, you can buy Friday and Sunday. Get out on the track.”

While Martin said discussions about the package began in the spring, it came to fruition “pretty late in the process as we started figuring out what the availability looked like, how we could activate it and just knowing how people were moving forward.” There would be a lot of demand for the game.” He added: “Texas football sells out seasonally, and knowing we wouldn’t have individual ticket inventory for this game, there was an opportunity to arrive later in the run-up to the weekend and the Having additional opportunity to enjoy both active activities and both sporting events was really appealing.”

Putting together a Saturday like this requires collaboration.

“The initial reaction was just such a deep breath of a huge international F1 race and a huge, not just a small football game, but a huge national impact at this particular SEC match,” Martin said. “I think it was a huge deep breath of ‘How do we approach this?'”

The University of Texas Athletics and the Circuit of the Americas began discussing collaboration. Some factors are beyond their control, such as the availability of restaurants and the increase in hotel prices. Martin said: “Some of these are unavoidable when you have two major sporting events on the same weekend.” But the challenges extend beyond the city center. Due to the sheer number of flights into the metropolitan area, air traffic control is rerouting some flight routes.

This is a significant weekend for Austin as fans from around the world flock to Texas to experience two of the biggest events on both sports’ calendars. A title fight is brewing in Formula 1 as the first of the final six races of the year gets underway, and a new technical controversy is brewing at COTA. Meanwhile, the Longhorns look to continue to prove their worth and maintain their No. 1 status in their first year in the SEC.

“You can either be intimidated by it, worry about what might or might not go wrong, or you can embrace it and say, ‘The whole world will be watching Austin, Texas, the weekend of October 19th.’

“That’s exciting.”

Top photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

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