Miami has put together its Disneyland to impress Formula 1 and attract the attention of the world

the novel Formula 1 Grand Prix in Miamiwhich this weekend will have its second edition, will take place in the urban layout located in the precinct of Miami Gardens which also hosts the Hard Rock Stadium and which in recent years has become a world-class sports complex: versatile like few others, it is not only the venue for this car competition, but also a Masters 1000 tennis and parties playing like locals Dolphins of Miami of the National Football League.

Two men were instrumental in giving life to the project for this facility: Stephen M. Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins, and Todd Boyan, Vice President of Operations of that franchise, who outlined the guidelines for developing a multi-sport project with a global reach and which has also opened the doors to the most important category of motorsport.

“From day one they saw very clearly that this was meant to be a world-class racing circuit and they wanted the drivers, teams, competition and the FIA ​​to think so,” said Miami Grand Prix President Tyler Epp. . to the EFE agency.

“This has to be more than just cars driving around a track. This is an experience through food, drink, entertainment, culture. I think it is represented in the paddock, also in the entrances, in the marina, on the avenue and in the products we sell. It’s a Disneyland concept around the race,” Epp added.

The pharaonic structure of Formula 1 landed at the Hard Rock Stadium just a month after this same space hosted the Miami Open tennis, which for 12 days brought together the best players from the ATP and WTA circuits. This required work in record time. The last match of that contest, the women’s doubles final, was played on 2 April. The dismantling of the central stadium normally takes 40 days, but this time the organization had to do it in just two weeks.

On that same piece of land, where the Dolphins’ playing field is usually located (the NFL season runs from September to February), the so-called Team Village, the hospitality area of ​​each of the ten teams participating in the Formula 1 championship.

“It was a 24/7 job for almost a month. Since the Miami Open women’s doubles final ended, it didn’t stop until a few days ago,” explained Epp, who stressed the importance of planning to achieve the goal: “Everyone already has matches in schedule this week, starting on Friday, to talk about what we’ll start doing next year.

The numbers of this mutation are impressive: more than a thousand people involved every day in the transformation of the stadium into a racetrack, 179 marquees, 10 temporary grandstands with a capacity of 57,319 seats, 21 hospitality spaces, more than 240 tons of aluminium, 4,500 tons of iron for the structures, 41,000 m2 of synthetic grass and 18,000 m2 of fencing, all on an 84-hectare estate.

Of all the architectural elements that will accompany the roar of the engines of the 20 Miami vehicles, the flagship is the new paddock building, built on the north side of the stadium in just ten months. It is a space of 16,000 square meters and four heights, specifically to host the Grand Prix and which could also be used for other purposes during the year.

Epp stressed that the organization has focused on the need for the teams and their mechanics to work in the best conditions. “These people want to come here and work operationally. This new space allows them to do that and the teams, in turn, can receive many people in their hospitality area,” she explained.

Experiencing the Miami Grand Prix as a fan doesn’t come cheap, but tickets sold like hot cakes in both editions, including the most expensive packages that cost thousands of dollars and allow you to enjoy “a complete premium experience of great value, that money can’t buy,” according to the organization.

In 2023, the percentage of local citizens who attended the event was reduced. “The percentage of people who come from abroad is much higher than last year. It doesn’t mean there isn’t interest among the people of Miami, but that demand from overseas is very high and there is a huge attraction to coming to a place like this from other corners of the planet,” commented Tyler Epp.

The pier with the luxury yachts and the artificial water beaches also located at number seven survive the number of memes that have been made about them in the 2022 edition. Indeed, tickets for that sector of the route continue to be one of the most expensive: Prices around $67,000 to accommodate up to 15 people.

Miami wants to position itself as one of the Formula 1 Grands Prix with a stronger identity. In just two editions he is already reaching it and still has another eight years of contract with the FIA ​​ahead of him.