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≡ GRAND SLAM TRACK ≡
/Updated/American Olympic sprint icon Michael Johnson’s great experiment with a high-profile, four-meet season – Grand Slam Track – has been cut short for 2025 with multiple reports of the cancellation of the fourth and final meet of the season, scheduled for 28-29 June at UCLA’s Drake Stadium.
A BBC report said “Grand Slam Track (GST) is set to announce new investors to help fund its second season.”
The “Los Angeles Slam” was still listed, with ticket sales continuing as of 1:30 p.m. Pacific time on Thursday (12 June). The first three meets saw increasing interest from fans:
● I: 4-6 April in Kingston, Jamaica: Modest attendance all three days at the 35,000-seat National Stadium, but better on Saturday (10,000?) and Sunday than on Friday.
● II: 2-4 May in Miramar, Florida: Grand Slam Track claimed a sell-out, and the stands were mostly full at the 5,000-seat Ansin Sports Complex.
● III: 31 May-1 June in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Here was proof of concept at least at historic Franklin Field, with perhaps 18,000 filling the lower level of the home straight and most of the back straight in a 53,000-seat stadium. Condensing the meet from three days to two helped and the crowd was loud and enthusiastic.
However, television audiences in the U.S. were modest on The CW:
● 5 April (Sat.) in Kingston: 246,000
● 6 April (Sun.) in Kingston: 241,000
● 3 May (Sat.) in Miramar: 250,000
● 4 May (Sun.) in Miramar: 248,000
● 31 May (Sat.) in Philadelphia: 238,000
● 01 June (Sun.) in Philadelphia: 211,000
No figures were available from NBC’s streaming service Peacock, which are generally significantly less than broadcast.
The fourth meet at UCLA was in the notoriously hard-to-sell Los Angeles market, where the USA Track & Field-sponsored L.A. Grand Prix had sold just 2,600 tickets in 2023 and 2,200 in 2024 for one-day, nationally-televised meets.
/Update/Grand Slam Track confirmed the decision late on Thursday, with Johnson saying 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.
“We launched with a bold vision to reimagine professional track racing and we could not be more excited about what we have accomplished so far, delivering amazing races to a rabid fan base. 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. Our attention is now on 2026, with our eyes set on continuing to deliver the best-in-class storytelling, content, and competition that we have become known for in our debut year.
“We are in conversations with potential host cities – many of whom have already thrown their names in the hat – to build out an exciting calendar of events for our fans across the globe. We are committed to calling Los Angeles home, and look forward to hosting a Slam in LA as part of the 2026 season.”
The circuit paid appearance fees to all competitors by contract, either for a season (“Races”) or single meets (“Challengers”) and in each of the 12 event groups, the eight competitors received $100,000-50,000-30,000-25,000-20,000-15,000-12,500-10,000 from first to eighth.
Now, Johnson will need to regroup and try to come back for 2026, but will need more promotion and a better fit of venues, schedule and athletes. The three meets held generated a lot of interest in the sport; Olympic 100 m champ Noah Lyles said on a podcast at the end of May:
“There might be a time maybe next year I’ll join, you know, who knows? I’m very open, I’m trying to stay very open ‘cause again, like I said, this is the first thing we’ve ever had [close] to a track and field league, and I would truly like to see it succeed.”
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