Rick Brenner knows it takes more than just the game or sporting event to get fans to attend these days and maintain their attention once they arrive.
So Brenner and his team at Michigan International Speedway continue to go all out with fan experience events for the track’s two Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race weekends this summer.
From yoga classes to lumberjack shows and even advice from a psychic medium, fans will have plenty of entertainment options when they arrive for the FireKeepers Casino 400 race weekend in June and the Consumers Energy 400 weekend in August.
“As technology has improved people’s ability to consume sports and live events without going, it has become increasingly important for the venue to create layers and layers for people to want to come,” said Brenner, the track’s president.
Street performers including jugglers will also be entertaining fans at Michigan International Speedway.michigan international speedway
Some of the events, such as bingo, movies and a DJ-led dance party, offer things to do at track campgrounds. Other fan experiences such as street performers, face painters and musical acts will be featured in the raceway’s plaza area.
“We have just been steadily the past three years adding more and more entertainment,” said Brenner, who took over as MIS president in 2016 after a 23-year tenure in Minor League Baseball.
“We look at all the different ways we can create a unique touchpoint and an opportunity to bring our sports and our facility closer to our fans,” he said.
All this and a race, too
Campground entertainment: Movies on the big screen, spirit session with a psychic medium, late night party (complete with paint and foam sprays), concerts, fitness program (including yoga and Zumba), dueling pianists, bingo, face painters, magician, church service.
Fan plaza entertainment: Aerial acts, trampoline shows, hands-on museum, inflatable mascots, bands, lumberjack show, wood carving, chalk artists, cornhole, strolling street performers, magician.
In another effort to make sure fans are having a great experience, MIS staffers have started attending Disney Institute customer service training.
Such moves are especially critical at NASCAR tracks, which have been challenged with declining attendance. MIS is owned by International Speedway Corp., one of the two primary track operators in NASCAR. Brenner would not disclose specific attendance figures for MIS, which can seat 50,000 fans.
Much of the entertainment and outreach focus is aimed at younger fans.
The track will host street hockey tournaments in its fan plaza area during this summer’s race weekends. Youth and adult teams can sign up for $450 per team and each team member will receive two tickets good for the entire race weekend.
The track also has new ticket promotions aimed at kids through sponsorships with Consumers Energy and Henry Ford Allegiance Health.
“In both of those examples we are working with our corporate partners to improve the fan experience,” Brenner said.
Mike Sunnucks can be reached at msunnucks@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
