Out-of-state attendance for the '15 U.S. Grand Prix at Austin's Circuit of the Americas "plunged from earlier years," as just over 50,000 non-Texans "attended the main Sunday race on Oct. 25," according to a front-page piece by Eric Dexheimer of the AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN. By comparison, in '14 the "number was 75,500." A crowd of 77,000 non-Texans turned out in '13. The numbers "are estimates based on surveys and projections." Still, a steep drop in the number of out-of-state residents for the F1 event "suggests many of those fans might have chosen to attend the new Grand Prix race in Mexico instead of coming to Austin." The depressed out-of-state numbers also "could signal another financial blow" for COTA, as non-Texan attendees "form the basis for the size of the economic development reimbursement payment the state gives to local organizers for hosting the F1 event." The reimbursement is "calculated by estimating how much money out-of-state race attendees spend while in the Austin area," and the state then "refunds to organizers certain sales taxes it collects on those purchases." Instead of an anticipated $25M payment for "putting on last year’s race, the governor’s office said Austin race organizers should expect closer" to $19.5M. A state spokesperson said that the two sides are "continuing to negotiate over the change." Race organizers had already "conceded that torrential rains during the early part of the Oct. 25 race weekend had kept some fans away from the track" (AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, 1/11).
