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≡ INTEL REPORT ≡
A close look at the World Athletics Continental Tour schedule this week revealed that the two–year experiment by USA Track & Field with a high-profile, nationally-televised meet in Los Angeles, is over, at least for now.
The third edition of the Los Angeles Grand Prix, at UCLA’s Drake Stadium, was scheduled for 7-8 June 2025, but has been canceled.
The meet disappeared from the World Athletics schedule and the USATF Web site events listing and the cancellation has been confirmed by others.
Grand Slam Track announced that it will hold its fourth and final “Slam” of its inaugural season at Drake Stadium from 27-29 June, so there will be a major track & field meet in Los Angeles – and at UCLA – this year.
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The L.A. Grand Prix was announced with considerable fanfare in 2023, held as a two-day event on 26-27 May, with the USATF Distance Classic run on Friday evening, and then the Grand Prix on Saturday. The 2023 meet was marked by a brilliant world record in the men’s shot by American Ryan Crouser at 23.56 m (77-3 3/4) and world-leading marks in the men’s 1,500 m, vault and women’s 400 m, 1,500 m, 100 m hurdles and women’s shot.
In 2024, the meet was moved up to 17-18 May, and had world leaders from Rai Benjamin of the U.S. in the men’s 400 m hurdles and Halimah Nakaayi (UGA) in the women’s 800 m. The Distance Classic had a world-leading 12.51.60 men’s 5,000 from Ethiopian star Selemon Barega.
Both meets had modest attendance, but poor ticket sales. The 2023 meet had about 4,500 in the 11,142-seat stadium on Saturday and that improved to between 5,500-6,000 in 2024. But in both cases, the number of paid admissions was less than 3,000.
Southern California-based Internet Brands (WebMD, CarsDirect and many others) was the primary sponsor of the meet in both years. And both meets lost money.
For 2025, no replacement for the USATF Distance Classic – which has been held for years in the Los Angeles area – has been announced by the federation. However, Sound Running, the folks behind the very-much-appreciated “The TEN” in San Juan Capistrano, will have the seventh edition of its “Track Fest” at Occidental College on 24 May, dedicated to distance events. It’s a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver-level meeting.
Observed: All of this demonstrates once again the difficult market which is Los Angeles. There is heavy interest in sports, but effectively reaching such a sprawling metropolis with a one-time event is a real challenge and the 2028 Olympic Games is – for today’s sports consumer – a long time away.
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