Event organizers have announced a significant change for the 2025 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The city will not have a blackout, so fans unable to attend the prestigious race can watch it live on TV.
In past seasons, Indianapolis Motor Speedway has implemented a local television blackout so that NTT IndyCar Series fans in the city could only watch the Indy 500 on replay. This was done if the grandstands did not sell out. The belief was that a blackout would urge local fans to just attend the race.
The big change for this season is that Indianapolis Motor Speedway expects a full sellout of reserved seating for the first time since the 2016 race. This includes grandstands, hospitality suites, and Hulman Terrace Club.
According to IMS, only a few reserved tickets remain with just over one week before the race. The track expects these to sell out by the end of Monday's practice session.
Some general admission tickets will still be available in the week leading up to the race, but the expectation is that approximately 350,000 people will attend the Indy 500 on Sunday, May 25.
"This year, the greatest race on Earth will host one of its biggest and most memorable crowds in many decades," Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles said on Friday. "This is a terrific showcase for the NTT IndyCar Series and a great milestone to supercharge our relationship with Fox Sports.
"It is also absolutely a fitting tribute to the continued leadership and investment of Roger Penske."
This marks the second consecutive season that Indianapolis Motor Speedway lifted the Indy 500 blackout, albeit for different reasons. Last year, the change occurred due to a four-hour rain delay that pushed the start of the prestigious race.
This will be the first Indy 500 sellout since Fox Sports took over as the television partner of the NTT IndyCar Series.
"Fox Sports is all in on IndyCar, and this is an incredible accomplishment to celebrate with our first Indy 500 broadcast," said Fox Sports Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer Eric Shanks.
"As a lifelong fan, I am also personally thrilled to see the grandstands filled on race day and look forward to broadcasting the race live in Central Indiana."