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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK ≡
The first-year Grand Slam Track circuit cut short its first year of operations last Thursday (12th), canceling the scheduled fourth meet at UCLA’s Drake Stadium, slated for 28-29 June.
That’s a shame as the meet was headed for a significant success at the box office.
Founder and Commissioner Michael Johnson explained in a statement:
“The decision to conclude the inaugural Grand Slam Track season is not taken lightly, but one rooted in a belief that we have successfully achieved the objectives we set out to in this pilot season, and the importance of looking towards 2026 and beyond. …
“As we’ve said all along, we were going to have learnings, make adjustments, and continue to improve. Sometimes we have to make moves that aren’t comfortable, but what’s most important is the future and sustainability of the league.
“The global economic landscape has shifted dramatically in the past year, and this business decision has been made to ensure our long-term stability as the world’s premier track league.”
The internal calculus included prize money costs of $3.15 million that would have been due if the meet had been held, plus appearance fees to the 48-54 “Challenger” athletes not already under contract and production expenses for the site and television.
Still remaining are the costs of a settlement with UCLA on the rental fees and other expenses related to Drake Stadium, and refunds to ticket buyers for the meet, which was originally three days (27-28-29 June) and then condensed to two. The Grand Slam Track statement noted:
“Full refunds will be issued to fans who bought tickets for the 2025 Slam in Los Angeles, which will no longer take place. Refunds will process automatically, and be received within 10-14 business days. Fans with questions on this process should contact the UCLA Box Office directly at [email protected]”
However, as the meet was canceled 16 days out, there are fans who made travel arrangements to see the meet. Asked about any plans concerning those costs, Grand Slam Track declined to comment. The UCLA box office will no doubt be unhappily asked the same questions.
That’s the bad news. Even worse is the cancellation of a meet which could have brought fans back to Drake Stadium in large numbers for the first time in 35-40 years! Consider:
● The Sports Examiner was told that actual ticket sales for each day of the meet were over 5,000, or more than 10,000 for the two days.
● By comparison, the USATF L.A. Grand Prix held at Drake Stadium in 2023 sold about 2,600 tickets, with about 4,500 in the stands thanks to free tickets. The same meet in 2024 sold about 2,200, even though many free admissions bumped up the on-site audience to perhaps 5,500.
So, with 16 days to go, Grand Slam Track had sold more tickets for each day in 2025 than the Grand Prix had sold for both 2023 and 2024 combined!
That’s good.
Moreover, if sales had continued strongly – and the Grand Slam Track project had the benefit of known athletes who had already competed in the first three meets like Kenny Bednarek, Grant Fisher (two meets), Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and more – attendance at Drake Stadium could have approached levels not seen since the days of the Al Franken-promoted Jack in the Box Invitational in 1989 and 1990 and before that, the Pepsi Invitational from 1978-87. In the final five years of that meet (no meet in ‘88):
● 1990: Jack in the Box: 5,672 on 20 May
● 1989: Jack in the Box: 7,815 on 6 August
● 1987: Pepsi Invitational: 9,003 on 16 May
● 1986: Pepsi Invitational: 9,209 on 17 May
● 1985: Pepsi Invitational: 12,215 on 23 May
The 1985 meet was the last meet to draw more than 10,000 at Drake Stadium, and was driven by stars such as quadruple Olympic champion Carl Lewis and the appearance of Czech super-woman Jarmila Kratochvilova, the 1983 double world champion in the women’s 400 m and 800 m and, at the time, the world-record holder in both events. She had been unable to compete at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles due to the Russian-led boycott of the Games.
That was a long time ago and the drop-off in attendance from 1986 on tracked the decline of track & field as a spectator sport in Los Angeles. And it has been hard since; the last major invitational meets to draw more than 10,000 in the Los Angeles area were held in 2003-04-05 at The Home Depot Center (now the Dignity Health Sports Park) and promoted by the Anschutz Entertainment Group.
But the sales for the now-canceled Grand Slam Track meet at UCLA are a much-welcomed good sign for the future of track as a spectator sport in Southern California.
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With the Grand Slam Track program over for 2025, the seasonal winners were sprinters Bednarek and Jefferson-Wooden.
Bednarek and Jefferson-Wooden won at all three stops and only Bednarek won all six of his races!
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