Verge Meets: Tyler Epp, President of the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix

International sports is growing and getting better than ever. The NFL is taking Europe by storm (once again) with games in both London and Frankfurt, so it’s only right that one of the UK’s leading sports crosses over the Atlantic in return. During our time at the Kansas City Chiefs vs Miami Dolphins game in Frankfurt last weekend, we explored the connection between the global powerhouses that are the NFL and Formula 1.

May 2024 brings the third Formula 1 crypto.com Miami Grand Prix, held in the heart of the city on one of the worlds largest stages, which also happens to be the Dolphin’s home turf. We’re huge fans of Formula 1 here at Verge and it’s a rare opportunity to get an inside look from those that make the races possible.

We spoke with Tyler Epp, President of the Formula 1 crypto.com Miami Grand Prix who gave us incredible insight on what it takes to make these huge global sporting events happen. We discussed the similarities between F1 and The NFL, how Miami could be the world’s biggest sports city…and we may have secured some great seats for year three!

 

How are you enjoying the NFL International games in Frankfurt so far? 

It’s been amazing. We’ve combined Formula 1, NFL, WTA and ATP into one big business so to see the Miami Dolphins play in Frankfurt is a dream come true.

 

Does the growth of the Miami Dolphins internationally have any effect on the Miami Grand Prix? 

Absolutely. We’ve seen some real opportunities for our fans to cross over from NFL to F1 and make Miami the true host city to bring it all together!.

 

How do you plan to handle the boom of interest in Formula 1 within the US? 

For us it’s not a volume play, it’s down to how many people we can put on our campus to deliver the right experience. We’ve been very disciplined on how much [space] we can add, and each year we’ll try adding more if we can. As long as it’s not to the point where a group of [fans] are having a bad experience. There is no target number that we’re trying to get towards on campus and it is 100% based on what we can deliver to enhance fan experience.  

 

“I was speaking to some of my friends across The NFL and we were discussing the logistical challenges in pulling off the Grand Prix at the Formula 1 level and managing The NFL games internationally. There are absolutely synergies that we could share.”

 

Can you tell where the fans are coming from- is it mostly local or international?

Up until this year we’ve seen between 60 to 70% of our fans attending from the South Florida region, so we have a really heavy domestic audience. We think there’s a European headline of coming to visit Miami to see the race and that’s something we’re being intentional about. We certainly haven’t seen a huge amount of people coming to Miami from outside of the US for the race, but it’s something we’re keenly interested in for the future. We’re not going to complain – it’s great to have a local base, but it would also be great to continue to make it easy for people to come from all over the world. 

 

The NFL is finally starting to make a huge impact across Europe- are there any similarities between putting the international games together and preparing for the Miami Grand Prix? 

It’s really interesting that you’re bringing that up; I was speaking to some of my friends across The NFL and we were discussing the logistical challenges in pulling off the Grand Prix at the Formula 1 level and managing The NFL games internationally. There are absolutely synergies that we could share.

 

“Miami has very successful NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS teams, as well as great experiences up and down the coast which make people want to come. It’s a dynamic, diverse city that is just full of life and that’s nothing to do with what we’re doing- we’re just fortunate to be in a place where people want to live!”

 

What makes Miami such a hot spot for various sporting events, not just Formula 1? 

I think part of it is because Miami has very successful NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and MLS teams, as well as great experiences up and down the coast which make people want to come. It’s a dynamic, diverse city that is just full of life and that’s nothing to do with what we’re doing- we’re just fortunate to be in a place where people want to live! 

 

The Miami Grand Prix is getting bigger and bigger and we’re all so excited to see what comes next! Are there any sneak peaks you can give us on what we can expect? 

We’re only getting better in year three! We set sail in year one and we felt really good about it and year two we got better. In year three we’re focusing on our stakeholders: the team, the drivers but most importantly the fans and making sure they have a wonderful experience! 

 

For more information check out:  f1miamigp.com

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