The Circuit of the Americas near Austin, TX is a state-of-art race track that opening in 2012 to host the Formula One United States Grand Prix, other major road racing events, concerts — this is Austin we are talking about — and other events. Unfortunately, things aren’t quite working out so well for the race track. The latest blow is that ESPN’s X Games won’t be back in 2017. As the Austin Business Journal reports:
COTA, which also hosts its signature Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix race each October, has struggled financially in recent years and has relied on city and state incentives to boost its bottom line.
The Texas Major Events Trust Fund had paid out $1.1 million in incentives to COTA to host the X Games in 2014. An ESPN spokesman on Tuesday denied the incentives played any part in the network’s decision to leave Austin — he said the X Games are leaving Austin a year earlier than originally agreed so the event can seek a mid-summer window that is better for TV programming and promotion. The Austin X Games have typically been held in early June.
State incentives for COTA have been in the spotlight since late last year when Texas officials, in the wake of Gov. Greg Abbott taking office in January 2015, decided to reduce the annual incentives package given to COTA to host the Formula 1 race from $25 million to $19.5 million.
Why did Texas cut its payout for the Formula 1 race? Because attendance has fallen over time. COTA built it and not as many people came as they hoped.
