MAY 7, 2001

US Grand Prix was fifth biggest US sporting event of 2000

ACCORDING to a recent survey the United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis was the fifth biggest sports event in the US last year - in terms of money generated. The event is reckoned to have generated $171m for the city. The list published last week is dominated by auto racing events with eight of the 10 top places. The biggest event was, as usual, the Indianapolis 500 which generated an estimated $334m, almost $100m more than the second-placed Daytona 500, which amassed $240m. Indianapolis also claimed the third biggest event with the Brickyard 400 NASCAR race which generated $220m.

The Superbowl football game generated an estimated $215m but the only other non-racing event to make it into the top 10 was the Kentucky Derby horse race, which was the ninth biggest event, generating $60m. The other events in the top 10 were the Texas 500 (Fort Worth - $160m), the Go Racing.com 500 (Bristol - $120m), the Food City 500 (Bristol - $81m) and the Winston 500 (Talladega - $43m) - all of them NASCAR races.

Added together the Indianapolis 500, the Brickyard 400 and the United States GP generated a total of $725m for the Indianapolis area, justifying the city's claim that it is "the racing capital of the world".