|
The numbers were boosted by singer Taylor Swift holding her
long-awaited first concert of the year on Saturday night after
race qualifying, with some 80,000 watching.
The race, now in its fifth edition, reported a three-day crowd
of 224,011 last year with the previous record of 265,499 set on
its debut in 2012.
In 2013 and 2014 the official figures were 250,324 and 237,406
respectively.
Bad weather hit revenues significantly last year, with
Saturday's final practice taking place behind closed doors due
to flooded conditions and qualifying postponed to the Sunday.
That race turned out to be the title decider, with Britain's
Lewis Hamilton taking his third world championship with
Mercedes.
State subsidies, which the circuit needs to keep the race on the
calendar, are based on a formula for calculating how much
economic activity the grand prix generates for Texas and
attendances play a big part in that.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Ian Chadband)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|
