Seating diagram of Main Grandstand provided by Circuit of The Americas.
This evening COTA announced a waitlist-style deposit option for "Select Seating" at the circuit, and released a seating diagram for the Main Grandstand. Though the details provided by COTA are relatively vague as to the location of these seating options There are still many details yet to be released, but fans are able to place a deposit of $100 through the Circuit's Paypal account to reserve their position in the waitlist for these future purchase opportunities and "seating licenses."
Combined with a website redo, Seat Licensing information and FAQ can be found here at the Circuit's new website.
Detailed information about location and pricing of these seating options are not specific, and no seating chart or map has been provided but the seating diagram helps to understand the general locations and types of options available. Additional information was provided by COTA to John Maher at the Austin American-Statesman:
The seat licenses will be for all racing events at the circuit for the next 15 years. A license does not include the price of tickets for those events. The price for the seat license varies according to the proximity to the finish line and the amenities offered.
In the main grandstand, which will have 26 rows, those amenities will include stadium seats, in-seat food and beverage service, priority on-site parking and a direct view of three big video boards. The main grandstand features a view of the start/finish line and the pit area.
There will also be select seating available at two spots that figure to provide some of the most dramatic views of the race — Turn 1, and Turns 15 and 16.
The seat license does not include the price of tickets, though from the FAQ it says it will be refunded if you decline to purchase later. It does not indicate whether or not the $100 seat deposit purchase will eb applied towards any future monies spent with COTA.
The newest rendering from Circuit of The Americas, released Jan. 21, 2012The most interesting part of this story is the ticketing portion of the timeline which goes well into the summer of 2012. The priority based waitlist system went active at 10:00PM January 21, 2012 and lasts until Febuary 13; after that, the website indicates, a survey will be sent out and then sales representatives will contact individuals who made deposits in order to process transactions beginning March 1, 2012.
Those fans hoping to lock in Grandstand tickets before they make travel arrangements will likely be quite frustrated as those tickets are not expected to go on sale until Summer 2012. Details on regular grandstand tickets and general admission have not been annouced as of yet.
We will continue to update you with progress as more details are released.
// UPDATE 01
We received a more-detailed seating diagram, posted it above and updated the article to reflect this information.