Detroit Grand Prix Draws Estimated 150K Spectators Downtown

Officials of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear estimate that approximately 150,000 attended the June 2-4 event throughout the race weekend.
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Detroit Grand Prix shot
Grand Prix attendance was improved with free access all weekend in Hart Plaza (pictured), Spirit Plaza, the Detroit Riverwalk, and all along Jefferson Avenue. // Photo by Tim Keenan

Officials of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear estimate that approximately 150,000 attended the June 2-4 event throughout the race weekend.

Run on the downtown streets rather than on Belle Isle for the first time in 32 years, the event delivered “incredible attendance, television viewership, and total audience numbers across multiple platforms, along with “significant” charitable contributions raised during the event’s annual fundraiser, according to race organizers.

“We want to thank all of our great fans here in metro Detroit and across southeast Michigan for their support as we brought the Grand Prix back home to the streets of the Motor City in 2023,” says Michael Montri, president of the Detroit Grand Prix. “We saw tremendous interest not only here locally but with viewership and coverage across the country. It was an amazing weekend and a great opportunity for Detroit and our entire region to shine in front of an audience watching all over the world.”

The attendance figure was bolstered by sold-out grandstands on Sunday of race weekend, as well as free access across more than half of the venue over the course of the three-day weekend.

In addition to the paid attendance areas inside the event’s footprint, the Grand Prix featured free access all weekend in Hart Plaza, Spirit Plaza, the Detroit Riverwalk, and all along Jefferson Avenue through courtesy viewing platforms and activation areas on the blocks immediately north of Jefferson.

According to Nielsen ratings information, viewership of the Chevrolet IndyCar Grand Prix on Sunday posted a total audience delivery (TAD) of 1.098 million viewers across television, digital, and out-of-home viewing. With the race televised on NBC and streamed live on Peacock, that total represents an increase of 179 percent from the 2022 TAD in Detroit when the final IndyCar race on Belle Isle was broadcast on the USA Network.

Nielsen reported that Sunday’s IndyCar race drew a .65 national household rating — the second-highest rating for the event since 2014 and more than 40 percent above the five-year average. The Chevrolet IndyCar Grand Prix had the highest viewership of any sports programming on NBC over the course of the week and the audience reach more than doubled the results of the 2022 Grand Prix.

This year’s broadcast marked the third-highest viewed NTT IndyCar Series race of 2023 behind the Indianapolis 500 and the season opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

In metro Detroit, NBC affiliate WDIV Local 4, the Detroit designated market area (DMA), led all U.S. markets with a 4.73 rating and a 19 share. This represents the highest ratings for the event in the Detroit DMA since 2016.

According to social media metrics, Detroit GP social channels soared with a reach of more than 640,000 on Facebook and more than 40,000 on Instagram, along with over 360,000 new impressions on Twitter, from June 2-4.

The positive social momentum also was evident on the NTT IndyCar Series channels with more than 7.2 million video views generated during the weekend (an increase of 183 percent from the 2022 event) and over 1.7 million engagements across all series social platforms for an increase of 135% from last year’s event weekend.

The Grand Prix also delivered for its identified charitable causes during race weekend, promoters say. The annual PwC Grand Prixmiere presented by Chevrolet, conducted on Friday evening June 2 at Campus Martius Park and Cadillac Square in downtown Detroit, featured nearly 500 attendees as the event raised more than $1 million in contributions for five Detroit-area organizations.

Through Grand Prixmiere ticket sales, as well as auction items and experiences, funds were raised to benefit the Belle Isle Conservancy, Boys and Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, Detroit Public Safety Foundation, Detroit 300 Conservancy, and the Pope Francis Center in Detroit.

Since 2014, the PwC Grand Prixmiere presented by Chevrolet has helped raise more than $7 million for local charities.