Daily ticket sales reports for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 are "tracking nearly dead-even" with the Greatest Spectacle in Racing’s most recent sellout eight years ago, "pushing the race closer to the 350,000-fan sellout for its 100th running." The race hosted more than 330,000 fans last year, the most since 2016. A year ago, IMS saw "roughly a 1% uptick" in ticket sales, moving from 12,000 unsold grandstand seats to 9,000 (and 325,000 to 330,000 race day attendees). It will "still need to see an improvement year-over-year to reach that grandstand sellout mark" with "enough time for fans to feel a scarcity in infield admission that led to 2016’s sellout." Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Doug Boles attributes the upward trajectory of tickets sales to track owner Roger Penske’s "continued investment into the track" that presently stands around $50M just over four years. Boles said IMS' "collective facelift" has "helped show customers on the fence just how much the track’s new ownership cares about their experience." Beyond the grandstands, Boles says the track’s Snake Pit ticket sales are "'crazy again,' tracking towards the pre-pandemic highs" of more than 25,000 (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 2/26).
