As Liberty Media seek to add a second United States race to the Formula 1 calendar, targeting Miami may be costly for both parties.
Liberty Media seem to like taking all the goodwill they’ve gained over the first four races of the 2018 Formula 1 season and just binning everything. In the days since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, F1’s new commercial owners have trademark registered the “Shoey”, Daniel Ricciardo’s signature podium celebration, to mixed feelings among fans and industry critics. Their latest venture was announcing a street race in Miami for 2019.
According to Sky Sports F1, the proposal still needs to be approved by the City of Miami Commission. If approved, the race could be on the calendar until 2028. The vote is scheduled for Thursday, May 10.
Prior to the Bahrain Grand Prix, Chase Carey, the CEO of the Formula 1 Group, presented teams with Liberty’s proposal for F1 from 2021 and beyond. Carey said in his introduction that the proposal was to “preserve, protect and enhance that history by unleashing F1’s potential”. Staging a race in Miami, which has no F1 racing history, isn’t any of that.
While F1 Commercial Director Sean Bratches sees Miami as a target because it is a “destination city” and is optimistic about a Miami race, no details have been released. There has been no proposed track layout, no details on funding, and no actual details as to whether or not F1 is popular enough in South Beach to warrant staging a race on Miami’s streets. It is all hearsay.
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Miami is a popular vacation spot for sure with a lively nightlife scene. However, the city’s sports scene is lukewarm at best. The city’s fanbase is at times indifferent to their team’s success and quick to judge. The Marlins, the city’s baseball team, struggled for years to get a new stadium built and continue to struggle to sell tickets to their new $634 million stadium, which was built in 2012. They are currently last in attendance figures. This could cause issues for the Commission to approve a multi-year F1 race deal. If the city cannot promote their own local sports teams, it would make it much more difficult to promote a global sport like F1.
With the city still reeling from construction costs of the Marlins’ new stadium, even the potential appeal of F1 revenue into the local economy may not be enough to entice the Commission to approve the Miami race, especially with the expected high asking price of hosting a Grand Prix.
For comparison, the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, the current home of the United States Grand Prix, paid $33 million in 2015 to play host to the race, according to Jalopnik. That means just bringing the F1 show to COTA. COTA is a purpose-built facility for racing. Baku, which hosts the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on its streets, reportedly paid $40 million. Baku’s financial situation should serve as a barometer for the Commission.
If similar numbers are any indication, the city of Miami cannot afford a hosting fee of $33 million to 40 million, not to mention all of the extra fees associated with making a street venue acceptable for Grand Prix racing.
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Simply put, Liberty are not trying to preserve F1 history. They are chasing the money like Bernie Ecclestone did, except in this case, there may not be any money to chase.