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News Archive for Daytona International Speedway

Q & A 02.12.09 1:29 PM

Daytona 500 Organizers Slash Ticket Prices, Anticipate Fewer Spectators

Daytona International Speedway's Robin Braig
Photo: Courtesy of Daytona International Speedway

The Daytona 500 is set for this Sunday at Florida's Daytona International Speedway. Considered the most important event on the Nascar calendar, the annual 500-mile race features entertainment and plenty of events surrounding the festivities. Overseeing the 500 and its official events is Robin Braig, president of the Daytona International Speedway. We chatted with him about marketing the event in the current economy, strategic brand partnerships, preparing for 250,000 attendees, and trying to make things a little different each year.

What’s new this year?
Our lower ticket prices. We feel the economy as much as anybody else, and we dropped our ticket pricing, unlike the NBA or NFL. On our front stretch, we have new seats with arm rests and chair backs. That doesn’t sound like it should be new, but the track is 50 years old, and we’re just now getting around to getting everything [you'd expect to see] in a state-of-the-art-type facility.

Have you seen a change in ticket sales due to the discount? Has the economy affected the race in other ways?
The phones are ringing much more since we’ve announced the $55 ticket. Like any American business, we’ve attempted to cut expenses more than we have in the past. We anticipate fewer people attending, so we’ll need fewer people to manage the event. On the other hand, we’ve taken this as an opportunity to have people attend that haven’t been able to afford it in the past. The pricing is better; we have free parking; the hotels in the area are charging less; we dropped some of our food and beverage prices; and we let you bring your own food into the facility. That combination is going to be positive for our race fans. MORE >>

Nascar, DirecTV, Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway