Best seats/location at COTA for a concert?

[Brisketexan 107002]

Ok…the wife and friends are gung ho about going to the Killers concert Oct 20th (in fairness, the Killers put on a great show).

 

Don’t know ANYTHING about going to shows there on race day. Do your tickets have to be for the race AND the show? Are there options for a suite or something like that? I don’t even know where the stage is…so, any advice is appreciated.

[Deej 77857]

Leave for the show on the 19th.

[utee94 16091]

On 5/13/2023 at 1:52 PM, Brisketexan said:

 

Ok…the wife and friends are gung ho about going to the Killers concert Oct 20th (in fairness, the Killers put on a great show).

 

Don’t know ANYTHING about going to shows there on race day. Do your tickets have to be for the race AND the show? Are there options for a suite or something like that? I don’t even know where the stage is…so, any advice is appreciated.

Oh boy.

Well, first, if I were you, I'd cross-post this to the "COTA Seems Like It Sucks" thread on the "Other Sports" forum.  There are a lot of people that attend F1, and the concerts, who post over there, but don't necessarily read the music forum.  They have lots of opinions but also lots of information.

Second-- there are two main stage areas at COTA.  The first is the COTA Germania Insurance Amphitheater.  This is where most musical acts that come and play independent concerts, end up playing.  But that's not where The Killers will be.

For the Friday/Saturday night concerts that occur during the Formula 1 US Grand Prix, they use the "Super Stage" which is a huge field in the middle of the raceway, bounded by the track on both sides.  It can hold up to and over 100K pretty easily, but unless you get there very early and/or buy the VIP seats, you won't be very close to the stage itself.  The area is vast.  It's almost entirely GA and standing room only. The green area at the top right of the map below, is the Super Stage.  You can see it's sort of pinched between Turns 9 and 10 on bottom, and the long back straight on the top, with the hairpin turn 11 to the far right.

So that's physically where it's located.  The amphitheater on the other hand, is right where that big tower is, in the middle. But you don't need to worry about that.

As for ticketing, every race ticket gets you access to the concert on the evening of that raceday.  So a Friday ticket will get you Killers, a Saturday ticket will get you Queen, a 3-day pass gets you everything.  However, sometimes it's tricky to get just a one-day ticket.  They don't release them all initially, and then they'll say they're sold out, and then they'll randomly release some more.  Above that, for an additional charge, they'll upsell you VIP access.  I've never done this so I can't really comment.  There's an area down right in front of the stage, but I think it's all still standing, although maybe there's some seating?

Then there's getting in, and out, of the venue.  The concert starts about 1-2 hours after the final on-track activity, and they won't let fans into the super stage area until all of the raceday stuff is complete.  After the raceday stuff, end, there will be a lot of traffic headed out of the COTA parking areas because those folks don't care about the concert.  There will also be a lot of traffic headed in, just for the concert.  So it's kind of a mess.

I always go to the entire Formula 1 race every year and stay in RV parking for the duration, so I never have to deal with the normal in/out flow of traffic.  We get out there on Wednesday before the race weekend, and stay until late Sunday night or Monday morning, so no traffic for us.  But it is notoriously awful to deal with.

My recommendation would be, get there around midday on Friday.  Hang out and watch some fast cars go around the track for practice and qualifying sessions.  Don't go too early and get caught up in the racing die-hard traffic, or too late and get caught in the concert-only traffic.

And then, as for getting out-- be patient.  Bring a cooler and tailgate. Wait a couple hours for traffic to clear out and then you can  avoid being frustrated.  Think of it like going to a UT football game against a big-time opponent and making the mistake of parking in one of the state garages.

Oh and finally-- keep in mind that these concerts tend to be shorter than a full-fledged concert.  Sometimes maybe only an hour.  Never more than 1.5 hours or so.  It tends to be more like a festival set than a full concert.  So if you're not dead set on seeing them NOW, and could wait for a full tour date, that's probably a  better way to do it.

Just my opinion of course.  Goodbye and good luck!

[sidis 10019]

On 5/13/2023 at 1:52 PM, Brisketexan said:

 

Ok…the wife and friends are gung ho about going to the Killers concert Oct 20th (in fairness, the Killers put on a great show).

 

Don’t know ANYTHING about going to shows there on race day. Do your tickets have to be for the race AND the show? Are there options for a suite or something like that? I don’t even know where the stage is…so, any advice is appreciated.

you are being foolish.

[Brisketexan 107002]

6 minutes ago, sidis said:

you are being foolish.

Almost certainly.

And we've seen the Killers twice, in Vegas and NYC (both great shows).  But my wife is very into the idea of going to see them with a bunch of her friends here.  So, I'll almost certainly get dragged along. @utee94, your insight above is much appreciated.

I mean, the good thing is, it's mid-October, so temps have usually dialed down to about 95 by then.

[utee94 16091]

12 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Almost certainly.

And we've seen the Killers twice, in Vegas and NYC (both great shows).  But my wife is very into the idea of going to see them with a bunch of her friends here.  So, I'll almost certainly get dragged along. @utee94, your insight above is much appreciated.

I mean, the good thing is, it's mid-October, so temps have usually dialed down to about 95 by then.

Pretty much every USGP Fri/Sat concert I've been to--which is all of them-- has had great weather.  Even when the daytime temps have been hot, that's the time of year when evenings begin cooling off pretty quickly.

And don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the COTA concerts during the USGP.  But I'm always staying on site the entire weekend and never have to deal with the traffic issues, which are legendary. 

I think as long as you approach it like it's going to be a giant cluster, and have a very large ice chest in your car, full of good stuff, and are willing to wait it out, you'll be fine.  Since the concerts tend to be relatively short and they start around sundown, it's not like they'll be playing until 10 o'clock.  Probably more like 7-8:30 or so. 

[jimmyjazz 47283]

How much is the daily rate for your RV?  Do they have the normal utility and waste hookups? 

Sounds like a great way to avoid all the bullshit, but it's gotta be expensive as hell.

[utee94 16091]

6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

How much is the daily rate for your RV?  Do they have the normal utility and waste hookups? 

Sounds like a great way to avoid all the bullshit, but it's gotta be expensive as hell.

You rent for the whole weekend.  There are some spots that have electricity, but the vast majority have no hookups at all, so you're dry-camping with your own freshwater and waste tanks, and using your generator for power.  We do a ton of dry camping so it's easy for us.  The no-hookup sites are I think $800 now for the whole weekend, but we have a larger RV with multiple bedrooms, and we split it with another couple, so it comes out pretty cheap for the weekend.

The spots with electricity in Lot N are probably over $1,000 now, and the premium RV spots along the back straight were originally something like $10,000 per weekend, and likely more than that, these days.  Those are almost entirely corporate/promotional now.

[nolongerU2horn 769]

front row of pit

[jimmyjazz 47283]

13 minutes ago, utee94 said:

The no-hookup sites are I think $800 now for the whole weekend,

That's not bad.  Thanks.