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The Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is offering to buy back early bird tickets from holders and pay an additional $50 (£41/€47), after securing an unnamed musical superstar to headline this year’s Formula 1 US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
According to a report from CNN, the booking of such a high-profile act has prompted COTA bosses to contact early bird ticket-holders with the offer, as they believe they can turn a much bigger profit by reselling tickets for more than the original $299 fee.
However, the identity of the artist has not been revealed, though COTA founding partner Bobby Epstein told CNN: “Taylor (Swift) was here a few years ago, and I’ll say this is the biggest we’ve had since then.”
The circuit will announce the entertainment line-up on April 29, with early bird buyers able to sell their ticket back for $350 until May 6. The offer is open for any general admission three-day weekend grounds passes, with roughly 10,000 of this type of ticket sold.
A limited number of general admission tickets will be released following the artist announcement according to Epstein, but will still be priced below $400.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to want to sell their tickets (once the lineup is announced),” Epstein added, and said that the buy-back price could be raised following backlash.
“It just illustrates that (early bird buyers) got a really good value on their purchase and hopefully, they’ll be there for us again in the future,” Epstein said.
An official post from the circuit on Instagram came under fire from fans, with one commenting: “Never heard of a venue scalping their own tickets.”
Despite reports, and backlash from fans, Epstein also said that the buy-back scheme was not about “making a profit on it at all”.
“It was about just demonstrating the value that we see in our tickets and that we appreciate what those buyers saw,” he said.
The Formula 1 US Grand Prix will take place from October 18-20.
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