AUSTIN, Texas — Just outside the Circuit of the Americas stands a large, multicolored billboard.
On the right side, set on a black background, is the Formula One logo, the dates for Sting and Eminem’s concerts, and the logos for the Texas Longhorns and Georgia Bulldogs. Written on the left is a phrase displayed across different parts of Austin this weekend: “The biggest weekend ever.”
The United States Grand Prix has taken place during the college football season ever since COTA joined the calendar in 2012, aside from 2022, when COVID-19 impacted F1’s schedule. The two sports have competed in Austin on the same weekends before, like in 2013 when Texas lost to Oklahoma State, in 2015 when it beat Kansas State, and the overtime 2017 loss to Oklahoma State.
This weekend’s game, where the top-ranked Longhorns host the No. 5 Bulldogs, is one of the biggest college football matchups this year, with two Southeastern Conference powerhouses set to clash.
ESPN’s College GameDay is also in town and is planning plenty of crossover between F1 and college football this weekend, such as SportsCenter segments live from COTA and The Elle Duncan Show being on-site. Legendary football coach Nick Saban did a hot lap on Friday, and Jess Sims tested several drivers’ knowledge of American college football, including Lando Norris.
It’s a weekend unlike one F1 has seen, particularly since the popularity boom. “It’s really exciting to see those two cultures blend because they’re both formidable. Iconic American college football and Formula One racing,” said Drew Martin, Texas’ Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs. “Those are really unique and distinctive sports cultures, and to watch them come together on a weekend like that, there’s nowhere else in the world that happens.”
College football gamedays, particularly within the SEC, are a different beast.
Sure, you have your typical tailgates and ritual cheers. But Texas levels it up, with the university reinventing what game day looks like in Austin. Martin said, “When you come to a football game at the University of Texas, you’re going to get the best of Austin culture, which starts with the live music capital of the world.”
The Longhorns have a pregame concert at Longhorn City Limits, leaning into the city’s street festival culture, like Bevo Boulevard. And then there’s Smokey’s Midway, a nod to the state fair.
“It’s the absolute best football game day environment in the country, although it’s non-traditional,” Martin added. “It’s not your massive acreage and acreage of tailgating lots. It’s a giant three-ring circus, really.”
When College GameDay comes into town, it adds a bit to the chaos. Texas received the notification over a week ahead of time, but this is the fifth time in seven years that the university is hosting the production. It is a massive logistical feat regardless, Martin says, but considering the relationships they’ve built over the years, “it’s more of a known entity of what they need, what they expect, how to activate around the show, and how to draw our fan base in because we won’t kick off that game until 7:30 p.m. Eastern time.”
Jess Sims interviews Lando Norris for ESPN. (via ESPN)
It’ll be a marathon day — College GameDay for three hours in the morning, and then the festivities will begin.
“I know the Europeans are particularly fond of college football, 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 they particularly like the marching band halftime shows,” COTA chairman Bobby Epstein said. “The pomp and circumstance and all the fun around a college football atmosphere is something that’s so uniquely American that we know our out-of-country visitors appreciate and look for that on the weekend to elevate the experience overall.”
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Between the Texas-Georgia game and F1, Epstein expects “at least a quarter of a million people around that night in downtown Austin” by Saturday. Martin estimates over 100,000 people will be at the downtown Austin college campus that night.
F1’s qualifying runs from 5 to 6 p.m. CT, and the college football game will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT, making it a tight turnaround for those attending both sporting events. There’s no extra pressure when it comes to security or traffic management; COTA and Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium are around 17.5 miles apart if you take toll roads. However, Eminem’s concert is that evening as well.
Oscar Piastri visited the Longhorns’ stadium this week. (via McLaren)
Saturday’s slate is packed, but COTA created another ticket package option for football fans called the ‘Split the Uprights Package.’ Epstein stated that “Saturday was selling out, largely because of Eminem,” but there was still availability for Friday and Sunday. It’s a Friday-Sunday general admission ticket combination at a lower cost—$289. According to COTA, this is cheaper than single tickets for each day.
“I think most of the hotels are three or four-night minimums,” Epstein noted. “So if you’re a Georgia fan coming in for it, you’ll say, ‘What else am I going to do the rest of the weekend?’ Well, you can buy Friday and Sunday tickets and come out to the track.”
Martin mentioned that conversations about the package began in the spring, but it “came to fruition fairly late in the process,” as they began to assess availability and activate this, given the anticipated demand leading up to the game.
He added, “Texas football tickets are sold out on a season basis. Knowing that we weren’t going to have individual ticket inventory for this game, the ability to come in later in the lead-up to the weekend with an additional opportunity to enjoy both events was really appealing.”
Pulling off a Saturday like this requires collaboration.
“The first reaction was just kind of that deep breath of a massive international F1 race and a massive football game with national implications for this particular SEC matchup,” said Martin. “It was a giant deep breath of, ‘How are we going to approach this?’”
University of Texas Athletics and Circuit of the Americas began discussing how to work together. Some factors are outside their control, like restaurant availability and the surge in hotel prices. Martin explained, “Some of those are inevitable when you put two massive marquee sporting events into the same weekend.” The challenges extend beyond the downtown area. Due to the number of flights arriving in the metropolitan area, air traffic control is diverting some flight paths.
This is a significant weekend for Austin, with fans worldwide flocking to Texas for two of the biggest events on their respective calendars. F1 has a title fight brewing as it kicks off the first of the final six races of the year, and a new technical controversy is unfolding at COTA. Meanwhile, the Longhorns want to continue proving their worth during their first year in the SEC and hold onto their No. 1 status.
“You can either be intimidated by it, worried about things that could or could not go wrong, or you can embrace it and say, ‘The entire world is going to be watching Austin, Texas, on the weekend of October 19.’ “That’s exciting.”
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Top photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images